BEPORTS 



OF THE 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA 

U $ Co-wftyc HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



FROM THE FOURTEENTH CONGRESS, 1815, TO THE 
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1887, INCLUSIVE, 



IN FIVE VOLUMES. 



COMPILED. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING, 

BT . 

T. H. IVIcKEE, 

Clerk, Document Room, United States Senate. 



t 



WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1887. 
9208 D c 



V\9S 
.U583 



FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION. 

[Public Resolution — No. 24.] 

Joint resolution authorizing the preparation of a compilation of the reports of com- 
mittees of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled^ That there be prepared under 
the direction of the Joint Committee of Printing, a compilation of the 
reports of the Senate and House of Representatives from the Four- 
teenth to the Forty-eighth Congress, inclusive, classified by committees, 
arranged, indexed, and bound in suitable volumes for the use of the 
standing committees of the two Houses of Congress. And the sum of 
seven thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars, or so much thereof as 
may be found necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in 
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the preparation of said 
work, which sum may be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury upon 
the order of the chairman of said Joint Committee, as additional pay or 
compensation to any officer or employee of the CJnited States. 

Resolved further^ That the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the 
Senate be, and they are hereby directed, to procure and file, for the use 
of their respective Houses, copies of all reports made by each commit- 
tee of all succeeding Congresses; and that the Clerk of the House and 
the Secretary of the Senate be, and they are hereby, authorized and 
directed at the close of each session of Congress, to cause said reports 
to be indexed and bound, one copy to be deposited in the library of 
each House and one copy in the room of the committee from which the 
reports emanated. 

Approved, July 29, 1886. 
2 



LI3iVAfo' OF JO.^Gr^esS 
RHCEIVEO 

SEP ^ J 1930 






COMPILER'S NOTICE. 



This compilation embraces all the printed reports made by both 
Houses of Congress from the commencement of the Fourteenth to the 
close of the Forty-ninth Congress. They are classified by committees 
and arranged in numerical order. The collection for each committee 
is divided into volumes of suitable size. Each committee has a separate 
index, a copy being bound in each volume. 

The SPECIAL and select reports are all compiled in one collection 
having one index, a copy of which is bound in each volume. 

The plan throughout the compilation is to place each report to the 
committee from which it was reported, without reference to the subject- 
matter. 

The House and Senate reports are compiled separately. Care will 
be required in noticing the chronological order, as in some instances an 
entire session or Congress may not appear in certain volumes from the 
fact that during this period no reports were made by this committee. 

T. H. McKEE. 
3 



\\ 



INDE X 

TO 

REPORTS OF COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 

HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVES. 



FROM 1815 TO 1887, INCLUSIVE. 



Subject. 



as 
§ 


1 
1 


34 


1 


49 


1 


21 


1 


49 


1 


27 


2 


24 


2 


24 


1 


25 


2 


28 


1 


28 


1 


29 


1 


29 


1 


23 


1 


49 


1 


49 


2 


49 


1 


19 


1 


29 


1 


30 


1 


43 


1 


43 


1 


48 


2 


49 


1 


48 


1 


49 


1 


38 


2 


47 


1 


47 


1 


19 


1 


47 


1 


48 


1 


46 


2 


23 


1 


46 


2 


48 


1 


14 


1 


28 


1 


16 


1 


18 


2 


28 


1 


27 


1 


35 


1 



ADDISON, H., forreUef 

ADIS ISRAEL HEBREW CONGREGATION, Waahington, D. C, for relief... 

ADVERTISING in D. C, tax sales in Georgetown 

AGENTS, real estate, in D. C, license tax law, to amend 

ALEXANDRIA, D. C, 

Circuit court in, providing for residence of one of judges of, in 

Corporation, for relief 

Do 

Court-house at. 

To erect 

To repair roof of 

Orphan Asylum and Female Free School at, granting public land in aid of — 

Do 

Town-site, retrocession of, to Virginia 

ALEXANDRIA CANAL COMPANY, D. C, memorial of president and direct- 
ors of 

AMERICAN COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND, D. C, to incorporate 

AMERICAN TRUST COMPANY, D. C, to incorporate 

ANACOSTIA, D. C. , to change name of Uniontown to 

ANACOSTIA BRIDGE, D. C, 

To allow William Benningto improve and control 

Free bridge, to make '- ■ 

Do 

New bridge on present site, to erect 

Do 

ANATOMICAL SUBJECTS, D. C, delivery of dead bodies of criminals and pau- 
pers to colleges for 

Do 

AQUEDUCT BRIDGE, D. C, to purchase 

Do 

ARMY, enlistment of colored criminals of the District of Columbia in 

ASSESSMENT CE RTIFIC ATES, D. C. , redemption of outstanding 

Do 

ASSESSMENT LAW, 1820, D. C, complaint against 

ASSESSMENTS, D. C, made by M. G. Emory (mayor), refunding 

Do 

ATOMIC STEAM COAL GAS COMPANY. D. C, incorporation of 

AWKWAR17, HENRY, for relief , 

BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD, settlement of taxes made by D. C. Com- 
missioners, to ratify *. 

BANK SHARES in DC, to tax 

BANKS in D. C. 
Charters to. 

Granting additional ." 

iDo 

Renewal of 

Do 

Do 

Relative to 

BARGY, PETER, Jr., for relief , 



319 

1723 

187 

3461 

591 
255 
269 

773 
458 
35 
312 
325 

498 

872 

4003 

171 

106 
137 
643 
257 
596 

2257 

873 

1958 

2300 

23 

1105 

1776 

83 

1201 

1314 

1108 

417 

1109 
1523 



76 

332 

56 

56 

332 

4 

100 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject. 



BARGT & VAN ALSTINE, for relief of assignee 

Do 

Do 

Do 

BENNETT, H.M., for relief 

BENNING, WILLIAM, for relief 

BILLS OF SALE. (See Mortgages.) 

BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, property in District, to hold 

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS, D. C, workmen under, payment of 

BOILERS. iHee Steam Boileks.) 
BONDS, D.C., 

Executors, amending law regulating 

Do 

Do 

Interest on, payment of 

BOTTLERS in D. C, to protect 

BOWEN, WILLIAM, forreUef 

Do 

BOYLE, CORNELIUS, for relief of heirs 

BRIDGES in D. C, 

Across Eastern Branch, 

To make free 

Do 

To construct a new 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do... 

Across Potomac River, 

Aqueduct, to purchase 

Do 

Long Bridge, purchase of 

At Three Sisters, to construct 

Do 

Do 

BROWN, B. PEYTON, et al., petition against taxing church property in District. 
BURGLARY. (,S«e Safe Burglary.) 

BURROWS, JOSEPH, et al, memorial for straightening F and G streets in Wash- 
ington 

CANALS in D. C, Tiber Creek, to provide for filling 

CAPITOL, NORTH O STREET AND SOUTH WASHINGTON RAILROAD, 

To incorporate 

To pi-ovide for extension of. 

CARROLL, ANNC, for relief 

CARROLL, DANIEL, for relief of devisees 

CASEY. STEPHEN, for relief 

CERTIFICATES, IMPROVEMENT, D. C, providing for funding of 

CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO CANAL COMPANY, D. C, to amend act of incor- 
poration 

Do 

CHILDREN in D. C, providing for protection of 

Do 

CHITTENDEN BROTHERS, contractors for building dam across Potomac River 

at Great Falls, claim for relief 

CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION in D. C, for relief 

CHURCHES in D. C, exempting from taxation 

Do 

CLARK, E. B., for relief of heirs 

CLARKE, BAILEY L. and MASON E., for relief 

CODE OF LAWS, D. C, providing for 

Do 

Do 

Do 

COGSWELL FOUNTAIN, acceptance of, by District 

COLLATERAL TRUST AND INDEMNITY COMPANY, D. C, to incorporate. 
COLORED CRIMINALS. (See Criminals in D. C.) 

COLUMBIA TURNPIKE COMPANY, D. C, to forfeit charter of 

COLUMBIA COLLEGE, D. C. memorial of president of board of trustees 

Do 

COLUMBIAN INSTITUTION FOR DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND, D. C, for 

relief 

CONNOLLY, JOHN, for relief 

Do 

Do 

CONTAGIOUS DISEASES in D. C, to prevent spread of 

CONTRACTS in D. C, made by board of public works, defining liabilities under. 

CONVEYANCES in D. C, acknowledgments of 

COOK, MATTHEW, for relief 

COOK, PATRK^K, for relief 

Do 



106 


29 


594 


30 


216 


34 


217 


34 


82 


47 


106 


19 


2697 


49 


1200 


47 


318 


48 


1629 


49 


264.5 


49 


774 


43 


987 


49 


1199 


47 


1954 


48 


1112 


46 


137 


29 


643 


30 


106 


19 


137 


29 


643 


30 


257 


43 


596 


43 


2703 


49 


1958 


48 


2300 


49 


484 


22 


470 


48 


1958 


48 


2300 


49 


1573 


46 


318 


22 


699 


47 


129 


46 


1102 


47 


1370 


47 


176 


48 


2007 


47 


207 


46 


48 


29 


126 


30 


1444 


46 


1957 


48 


3686 


49 


2580 


48 


1573 


46 


980 


48 


llli 


46 


515 


23 


269 


21 


96 


22 


683 


46 


8 


47 


1372 


47 


492 


48 


36 


41 


290 


21 


334 


22 


60 


35 


128 


46 


1993 


47 


928 


48 


215 


20 


2J31 


48 


491 


48 


1260 


47 


1992 


47 


247 


48 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject. 



CORCORAN ART GALLERY, to exempt from taxation 

CREMJNALS AND PAUPERS. (See also Anatomical Subjects.) 
CRIMINALS in D. C, enlistment of colored criminals in Army and Navy of 

United States 

DEATH DAMAGES in D. C, recovery of 

DEBT of D. C, 

Eight per cent, improvement certificates 

Funding of, to provide for 

Moneys to credit certain, on 

Settlement of 

DEGROOT, WILLIAM H., for relief 

Do 

DEKRAFET, FREDERICK C, for relief 

DENMEAD, FRANCIS, for relief 

Do 

DENTISTRY in D. C, to regulate practice of 

DETECTIVES' BONDS in D. C, to compel compliance with the law 

DISTILLED SPIRITS in D. C, to regulate manufacture and sale of 

DISTRICT ATTORNEY of D. C, safe burglary in office of 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 

Affairs in, investigation of 

Do!!;!!!!""!!!!!"""!!"!!!!""!".!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!""!"! 

Do 

Do 

Alleys in, 

To change 

O street, to close 

Title to, in square 635 

Do 

To vacate 

American Trust Company to incorporate 

Anatomical subjects in, to authorize delivery of dead bodies of criminals and 

paupers to colleges for 

Do 

Assessment certiiicates, providing for redemption of outstanding 

Do 

Do 

Assessments in, to refund to certain citizens , 

Banks in, recharter of 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Bills of sale in, to amend law on personal property in 

Bonds, interest on , 

Bottlers in, to protect 

Bridges. 

Aqueduct, to purchase 

Do 

Do 

Eastern Branch, to construct new 

Do 

Do 

Eastern Branch, to make free 

Do 

Long Bridge, to purchase 

Twin Sisters, to construct 

Do 

Do 

Three Sisters, to build 

Do 

Do 

Canals in, for filling Tiber Creek 

Charter of, 

Collateral, Trust, and Indemnity Company in, to grant 

Mutual Fire Insurance Company, to amend 

National Safe Deposit Company of, to amend 

Do 

Sixth Street and Bladensburg Railroad, to grant 

Southern Maryland Railroad, to change 

United States Gas, Electric Light and Fuel Company in, to grant | 

Washington Traction Railway, to grant i 

Children in, for piotection of \ 

Do 1 

Churches in, relative to taxation of , 

Do ! 

Civil and criminal code provide for I 

Do 

Contagious diseases in, prevent spread of 

Contracts of board of public works, to define I 



23 


38 


2379 


48 


207 


46 


774 


43 


3429 


49 


302 


47 


182 


35 


103 


36 


351 


24 


2646 


49 


3459 


49 


2258 


48 


2043 


47 


2581 


48 


785 


43 


72 


42 


7 


42 


647 


43 


702 


44 


64 


44 


1373 


47 


430 


47 


729 


49 


1012 


49 


1106 


48 


4003 


49 


2257 


48 


873 


49 


1105 


47 


1371 


17 


1776 


47 


1314 


48 


76 


14 


56 


16 


56 


18 


4 


27 


332 


28 


1907 


47 


774 


43 


987 


49 


470 


48 


1958 


48 


2300 


49 


257 


43 


596 


43 


2703 


49 


137 


29 


643 


30 


484 


22 


470 


48 


1958 


48 


2300 


49 


470 


48 


1958 


48 


2300 


49 


699 


47 


492 


48 


361 


48 


1775 1 


48 


2705 ' 


49 


959 


48 


1712 


43 


1116 


48 


2299 


49 


1444 


46 


1957 


48 


1573 


46 


980 : 


48 


269 


21 


96 


22 


215 


20 


2131 


48 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. 

Conveyances in, acknowledgnienta of 

Court, levy, reorganization of, in 

Criminal code, to provide 

Crimioala in, enlistment of colored, in Army and Navy of United States 

Death damages, to provide for recovering 

Debt of, to fund bonded 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Dentistry in, to regulate practice of 

Detectives in, to compel compliance with law 

District attorney, safe burglary in office of 

Elevators in, authority to supervise and control construction and operation of. 

Engineering, to regulate steam engineering in 

Executors in, 

To amend law relative to bonds of 

Do 

Do 

Foreign, to allow suits by 

Financial aii'airs in, investigation of 

Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington and Georgetown, extending 

charter of 

Fire companies in, to organize and encourage 

Fire escapes in, to require in hotels and boarding houses 

Firemen, to provide relief for those disabled in service in District 

Fires in, protection against 

Fishing season in, to define 

Gaming in, to more eft'ectually suppress 

Government of 

Do 

Highways in, to forfeit charters of 

Imprisonment in, for debt, to abolish 

Inspection of wood in, to repeal laws tor 

Insurance in, to regulate 

Jail in, for the erection of 

Do 

Justices of peace, to extend jurisdiction of , 

Land records in, to improve system of indexing 

Land titles in, 

To certain United States property 

To quiet certain ! . , 

Do 



Do. 



Quieting 

To amend law relative to 

Lands in, 

Retrocede to Virginia land allotted to 

Subdivisions to be made by Commissioners of 

Laws, appointment of commission to provide code of 

Do 

Do / 

Do 

Licenses tax in, assessment and collection of .• 

Liquor in, to regulate manufacture and sale of 

Do 

Lottery tickets in, prohibiting sale of 

Do 

Mechanics' liens in, to amend law relative to 

Minors in, protection of , 

Mortgages in, to amend law relative to, on personal property 

National Guard in, to maintain order during competitive drill and parade of. 

Negroes in, sale of, for court charges 

Do .. 

Physicians to the poor in, compensation of 

Police, uiotropolitan, in. 

Organization of 

Increase of 

Payment of 

Kegulation of 

Relief for those disabled in service 

Police court in. 

Lease of Unitarian church for 

To regulate service of process in 

Pool-selliug in, to prohibit 

Poultry, undrawn, in, to prevent sale of 

Prisoners in, commitment of 

Public buildings. 

Furnishing illuminating gas for 

To repair roof of court-house in Alexandria, D. C 

* And views of minority. 





m 










t: 




a 


o 


M 




s* 





n 




O 




Pi 


O 


CO 


491 


48 


1 


721 


29 


1 


2130 


48 


1 


23 


38 


2 


2379 


48 


2 


774 


43 


1 


207 


46 


3 


302 


47 


1 


3429 


49 


1 


2258 


48 


2 


2043 


47 


2 


785 


43 


1 


3793 


49 


2 


2374 


49 


1 


318 


48 


1 


1 1629 


49 


1 


1 2645 


49 


1 


1 2373 


49 


1 


1434 


48 


1 


4038 


49 


2 


207 


21 


1 


1313 


48 


1 


979 


48 


1 


3051 


49 


1 


1275 


47 


1 


1272 


47 


1 


337 


22 


1 


35 


41 


3 


36 


41 


3 


732 


24 


1 


1576 


47 


1 


3426 


4.9 


1 


211 


35 


2 


41 


38 


1 


242 


47 


1 


1777 


47 


1 


1012 


46 


2 


1271 


47 


1 


1775 


47 


1 


4016 


49 


9 


1734 


47 


1 


1953 


48 


1 


325 


29 


1 


4019 


49 


2 


269 


21 


1 


96 


22 





683 


46 


2 


8 


47 


1 


813 


47 


1 


2581 


48 


2 


4014 


49 


2 


174 


20 


1 


1631 


49 


1 


1666 


48 


1 


4017 


49 


2 


1907 


47 


2 


3702 


49 


2 


43 


19 


2 


60 


20 


2 


4039 


49 


2 


836 


27 


2 


4015 


49 


2 


59 


41 


2 


1427 


48 


1 


979 


48 


1 


*418 


45 


2 


2301 


49 


1 


1630 


49 


1 


1383 


49 


1 


815 


45 


9. 


1 6 


27 


1 


458 


28 


1 1 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject. 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA— Continued. 

Kailroads in, „ , ^„ , . ^ ^ • ^ 

Capitol, North Street and South Washington, to incorporate. 
Fifteenlh Street, to incorporate. 



M Street Cross-Town, to incorporate. 
■ lOf. 



129 
352 
350 
127 
1103 
1712 
351 
1512 
197 
1513 
78 
3461 
3960 
2378 



Metropolitan, extending line 

Southern Maryland, amend act incorporating 

Southern Marvland, to extend 

Thirteenth Street, to incorporate 

Washington and Atlantic, extension of 

Washington and Chesapeake, to extend their limits 

Washington and Point Lookout, extension 

Heal estate in, to amend law relative to transfer of 

Real estate agents, license tax on, to amend law providing for .. 

Real Estate Title Insurance Company, to change name of 

Real estate belon ging to, to authorize sale of certain 

Reform school in. 

Selection of new site for 

Trustees of 

Reform school for girls, to incorporate 

Revised Statutes of, to amend 

Roads in, 

Purchase of toll-roads 

Do 

Rock Creek, to condemn land on, for park 

Safe burglary in office of district attorney - - . ■ 

Saint Dominic's Church, to exempt from taxation parsonage lot 

School board, to create ■ 

School, 

Building sites in, purchase and erection of 

Industrial, for girls, making appropriation to aid, in , 

Sewerage in, to complete system of 

Slavery in, abolition of 

Do 

Small-pox in, to prevent spread of 

Societies in, to amend law relative to incorporation of 

Steam boilers, inspection of, to amend act providing for 

Streets, railroads, and pavements, construction of 

Street railroads in, to regulate carrying of passengers on 

Streets in. 

Commissioners to establish 

Light by gas 

Meridian avenue, confirming order of District Commissioners for closing.. 
Pennsylvania avenue, to macadamize from Capitol to White House 

Do 

Do 

Vacate a certain part of Rock street, in Georgetown 

Supreme court, 

Reporter for 

To regulate sessions and meetings of 

Tax sales in, advertising, to regulate 

Do 

Taxes in, 

Arrears of, collection of 

Arrears of, interest on 

Assessment and collection of 

Do 

Bank shares on 

Parsonages and rectories, to exempt from 

Sale of real estate for 

Do 

School property in, to declare meaning of act of 1870 for 

Settlement of, "with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

Washington Monument, railway for fllUng about the base of 

Washington Safe Deposit Company, to enlarge powers of 

Water supply in. 

To amend act for increasing - 

Extending time for claiming damages by increasing 

Windsor Hotel Company, to incorporate 

DIXON, JAMES, for relief - 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

DONOVAN, DA.N1EL, for relief 

DOUGHERTY, REBECCA, for relief 

DULIN. JOHN (guardian), for relief j 592 

EASTERN BRANCH OF POTOMAC, bridges across 106 

Do 137 

Do ' 643 

*And views of minority. 



39 
3354 
4030 
3685 

*410 
1514 
3820 
785 
3738 
2704 

1445 
1010 
1115 

691 
58 

215 
1058 

988 
3821 
1884 

4019 j 
354 
279 
184 
291 
604 
605 

3819 

3792 

187 

3769 

1779 
3768 

813 
1202 
1523 
1573 
2582 
3458 

980 
1109 
3915 
3794 

981 

2491 

3933 

69 

89 
363 
497 
85 
1778 
1885 



21 


1 


22 


1 


24 


1 


47 


1 


49 


2 


49 


2 


21 


1 


49 


2 


47 


1 


. 49 


2 


•*^ 


1 


47 


1 


48 


1 


46 


2 


48 


2 


49 


1 


48 


1 


46 


2 


49 


2 


49 


2 


' 48 


1 


48 


2 


I 49 


2 


28 


2 


29 


1 


1 29 


1 


1 30 


1 


31 


1 


: 47 


1 


47 


2 


; 27 


2 


19 


1 


29 


1 


\ 30 


1 



10 COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Sabject. 



EASTERN BRANCH OF POTOMAC, bridges across 

Do 

Do 

EDUCATION. (See Schools.) 

EG AN. MART ANNA, for relief 

ELEVATORS in D. C, construction and operation of 

ELLIOTT, HI;NRT R. (trustee), for relief. 

ELLIOTT, JONATHAN, for relief 

ENGINEERING STEAM, in D. C, to regulate 

EVANS, THOMAS, foi relief 

EXECUTORS in D. C, bonds of, to amend law regulating 

Do 

Do 

EXECUTORS, FOREIGN, to allow them to bring suits in D. C 

EYE, EAR, AND THROAT HOSPITAL in D. C., to incorporate 

FIFTEENTH STREET RAILWAY in D. C, to incorporate 

FINANCE of D. C, investigation of 

FIRE COMPANIES. (See Volunteer Fire Companies.) 

FIRE DEPARTMENT in D. C, to organize 

FIRE ESCAPES in D. C, requiring hotels and boarding houses to provide 

FIREMEN in D. C, providing relief for disability incurred in service 

FIREMEN'S INSURANCE COMPANY OF WASHINGTON AND GEORGE- 
TOWN, extending charter of 

FIRES in D. C, for further protection against 

FISHING in D. C, defining season for 

Do 

FITZHUGH. MARIA C, for relief 

FOREIGN EXECUTORS, to allow suits to be brought in District by 

FRANKLIN INSURANCE COMPANY of D. C, to extend charter of 

FRENCH, THOMAS O., for relief 

GAMING in D. C, to suppress 

GARFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL in D.C., to incorporate 

GAS COMPANIES in D.C., organizations of 

Do 

GAS LIGHTS in D.C., for certain street in D. C 

GEORGETOWN, D. C, 

Canal debt, relief in pajment of 

Citizens of, memorial for removal of Long Bridge across the Potomac 

Do 

Corporation of, to reimburse, for money advanced for building bridges across 
the Potomac River 

Do 

Streets in, 

Lighting of 

To vacate Rock 

Tax sales, to amend charter regulating 

GERMAN PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM ASSOCIATION of D. C, to 

change name of 

GIBBONS, JAMES, for relief 

GRANT. ROBERT, memorial for furnishing gas to public buildings 

GRAVES in D. C, to prevent desecration of 

Do 

HAY in D. C, weighing of, at wholesale market 

HIGHWAYS in D.C., charters of 

HORSEY. OFTERBRIDGE (assignee), for relief 

HOr.SE OF CORRECTION in D.C., selection of new site for 

HOWARD INSTITUTION inD. C, for relief to the poor 

HOWISON, WILLIAM G., for relief 

HUT-IIHINSOX, WILLIAM, for relief 

IMPRISONMENTFORDEBTinD.C. to abolish 

IMPROVEMENT CERTIFICATES of D. C, funding of, in 8 per cent, bonds.. . . 

INAUGURATION' DAT in D.C., to declare a legal holiday 

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR (URLS in D. C, making appropriation for aid of . . 

INSPECTION OF WOOD in D. C, to repeal law for 

INSURANCE in D.C., to regulate 

INTEREST ON D. C. BONDS, to provide for 

IRON PAVEMENT on Pennsvlvania avenue, D. C, providing for 

JAIL in D. C. : 

To erect new 

Do 

Exclusion of visitor s from 

JUSTICES OF PEACE in D. C, to extend jurisdiction of 

KILBOCRN, HALLET, investigation of, in connection with real estate pool 

LA^IPSinD. C, for erection of, in 

LAND RECORDS in D. C, improved system of indexing 

LAND TITLES, in D. C, 

To quiet 

Do 

LAND, United States, in D. C, 

Retrocession of, to Virginia all south of Potomac River 

Sale of 



257 


43 


596 


43 


2703 


49 


3462 


49 


3793 


49 


1906 


47 


57 


16 


2374 


49 


.532 


47 


318 


48 


1629 


49 


2645 


49 


2373 


49 


235 


45 


352 


47 


1434 


48 


207 


21 


1313 


48 


979 


48 


4038 


49 


3051 


49 


1275 


47 


978 


48 


1370 


47 


2373 


49 


231 


45 


1774 


47 


1272 


47 


7 


47 


592 


29 


233 


45 


354 


35 


269 


24 


108 


34 


318 


34 


98 


35 


462 


36 


355 


35 


605 


47 


187 


21 


162 


47 


1104 


47 


6 


27 


2257 


48 


873 


49 


2034 


47 


36 


41 


745 


48 


39 


42 


16 


28 


143 


33 


582 


36 


732 


24 


207 


46 


198 


46 


1010 


46 


1576 


47 


3426 


49 


774 


43 


356 


35 


211 


35 


41 


38 


11 


37 


242 


47 


242 


44 


836 


27 


1777 


47 


1271 


47 


1775 


47 


325 


49 


1012 


46 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



11 



Subject. 



LAW, JOHN, for relief 

LAWRENCE. RICHARD, et ah, for relief 

LAWS of D. C. . authorizing a code of ■ 

Do 

Do 

Do 

LEACH, WILLIAM, for relief 

LEVY COURT in D. C. , reorganization of 

LICENSE TAX in D. C, assessment and collection of 

Do 

LIEKS, MECHANICS', in D. C, amending law relative to 

LIQUORS {see also Distilled Spikits) manufacture and sale of, to regulate 

LITTLE FALLS, in D. C., bridge across Potomac River at, to reimburse the corpo- 
ration of Georgetown, D. C, for 

Do 

LONG BRIDGE across Potomac River, D. C, 

Removal of 

Do 

LOTTERY TICKETS in D. C, 

Disposal of, to prohibit 

Do 

LOUISE HOME in D. C, to exempt from taxation 

LUKENS, ISAIAH, for relief 

LUTHER STATUE ASSOCIATION of D. C, to incorporate 

M STREET CROSS-TOWN RAILWAY of D. C, to incorporate 

McCUE, OWEN, for relief 

MALL, to furnish gas-lights for certain streets passing through 

MARYLAND, memorial of State, asking Congress to improve navigation of Po- 

MECHANICS' LIEKS."'(,S'ee"LrKXs!) 

MERIDIAN AVENUE, confirming order of commissioners for closing 

METROPOLITAN GAS-LIGHT COMPANY, incorporation of 

METROPOLITAN POLICE, payment of 

METROPOLITAN RAILROAD, 

Extending line of 

Incorporation of 

MINORS, protection of, in D. C ^ 

MORTGAGES in D. C. on personal property, regulating 

MOSES, WILLIAM B.. for relief 

Do 

MUNICIPAL GAS COMPANY, incorporation of 

MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, charter of, to amend 

NASH, MICHAEL, for relief 

NATIONAL SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY, charter of, to amend 

Do 

NAVY, enlistment of colored criminals of D. C. in 

NATLOR, JAMES G., for relief 

NEGROES, sale of free negroes for court charges in D. C 

Do 

NYE, J. W. (assignee), for relief 

Do 



Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do 



ORPHAN ASYLUM OF ALEXANDRIA, granting charter and public lands to 

Do 

PABST. MATHIAS, for relief 

PARSONAGES in D. C, taxing of 

PASCHAL, MARGARET L.,' petition for closing alley in Washington, D. C 

PATTERSON, ELIZA W., for relief 

PENITENTIARY in D. C, erection of 

Do 

PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, D. C, 

Iron pavement, to lay 

Macadamizing of 

Do 

Do 

Do 

PERSONAL PROPERTY in D. C. bills of sale and mortgages on 

PHA RM ACEUTIC AL ASSOCIATION of D. C, to incorporate 

PHARMACY in D. C, to regulate practice of 

PHYSICIANS TO THE POOR in D. C. compensation of 

POLER, MELISSA G., for relief 

Do 

*And views of minority. 



.57 
923 

269 

96 

683 

8 

272 

721 

813 

3461 

1666 

2581 

98 
462 

108 
318 

48 
174 
3050 
225 
280 
350 
293 
354 

111 

279 

275 
59 

127 

*565 

4017 

1907 

163 

1790 

1108 

361 

411 

1775 

2705 

23 

88 

43 

60 

106 

594 

216 

217 

100 

117 

439 

405 

406 

407 

39 

35 

312 

735 

1573 

1111 

246 

52 

41 

356 

I 184 

' 291 

; 604 

8 

i 1907 

116 

351 

4039 

I 1904 

I 181 



12 COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject . 



POLICE in D. C, 

Creating force of 

Disabled, for relief of 

Increase of 

Pay of, to regulate 

Regulations for 

POLICE COURT, 

Lease of Unitarian church for 

Service of process in, regulating 

POOL-SELLING in D. C, prohibiting 

POTOMAC BRIDGE, repair of 

Do 

POTOMAC FLATS, 

Reclamation of, to provide for. 

Title to ownership of, to quiet 

United Stales interests in, providing for protection of 

POTOMAC INSURANCE COMPANY, Georgetown, D.C., for relief 

POTOMAC KIVER, 

Bridge across, at Three Sisters, to purchase or build 

Do 

Do 

Bridge across, to purchase or build, at Georgetown, D. C 

Do 

Do 

Bridge over Eastern Branch, 

To make free 

Do 

To build new 

Do 

Do 

Fisheries in, to protect 

Long Bridge, removal of 

Do 

Navigation of. Federal aid to improve 

POULTRY in D. C, to prevent sale of undrawn 

PRISONERS in D. C, commitment of 

PROVIDENT ASSOCIATION OF CLERKS, dissolution of 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS in D. C, 

Alexandria court-house, to repair 

Gas for, to furnish 

PUTNEY", TRUE, for relief 

RAILROADS in D. C, 

Capitol and North O Street and South Washington, to incorporate 

Fifteenth Street Company, to incorporate 

M Street Cross-Town Company, to incorporate 

Metropolitan Railroad, to extend line of 

Sixth Street and Bladensburg, to incorporate .. 

"Washington and Atlantic Railroad, to enter 

"Washington and Chesapeake Railioad, to extend line - 

Washington and Point Lookout Railroad, to enter 

RANDALL, HENRY K., for relief of heirs 

RANDOLPH, CORNELIUS P., et al., for relief 

REAL ESTATE in D. C, 

Sale of certain, authorizing 

Do 

Transfer of, to amend law relative to 

REAL ESTATE AGENTS inD.C, to amend license tax on 

REAL ESTATE POOL in D. C, investigation of 

REAL ESTATE TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY of D. C, to change name of. 
RECTOltll^S. (.See Pahsonagks.) 

REDMOND, SARAH A, for relief 

Do 

REFORM SCHOOL in D. C, 

Site for, selection of 

Trustees of relative to 

REFORM SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, D. C, to incorporate 

RICHARDS, R. R., for relief 

ROCK CREEK, D. C, 

Park on, to condemn land for 

Stone bridire over, to erect 

KOCK STREET. (Georgetown, D. C, to vacate part of 

RUPPEKT, CHRISTIAN, and others (trustees), for relief 

SAFE BURGLARY in D. C.iobbery inolHce of United States district attorney.. 

SAINT DOMINIC'S CHURCH, D. C, to exempt from taxation parsonage lot 

SAINT LUKES CHURCH. D. C, for relief 

SAINT MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH in D. C, for relief 

Do 

SAINT PATRICK'S CHURCH.D.C. for relief 

SALOMON, JOHN C. FR., memorial for furnishing city, of Washington, D. C, 

with water 

*And views of mlnoritv. 



1905 
182 



174 I 33 I 1 



COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



13 



Subject. 



SCHOOL BOAED, D. C, to create 

SCHOOL-HOUSES inD. C, 

Exemption from taxation 

To purchase sites for and erect 

SCHOOLS. INDUSTRIAL, FOR GIRLS in D. C, appropriation to aid in estab- 

lishing 

SEATON HOUSE, D.C., relative to purchase of 

SEWERAGE SYSTEM. (*«e DisTiucT OF Columbia.) 

SIXTH STREET AND BLADENSBURG RAILROAD, D. C, to incorporate. .. 
SKINNER'S GRAND BASIN in D. C, construction for supplying public build- 
ings with water 

Do 

SLAVERY in D.C., abolition of 

Do 

SMaLL-POX in D. C. checking progress of 

SOCIETIES, INCORPORATE in D. C, amending law relating to 

SOMMERS. SIMON, for relief of heirs 

SOUTHERN MARYLAND RAILROAD COMPANY of D. C, 

To amend act of incorporation 

To extend road into District 

SOVEREIGN'S DISTRIBUTIVE AGENCY inD.C, to incorporate 

SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS in D. C, to regulate 

STEAM-BOILERS in D. C, inspection of .- 

STEAM ENGINEERING in D. C, to regulate 

STEWART, HUGH, for relief of assignee 

Do , 

Do : 

Do 

Do 

STREET RAILROADS in D. C, to regulate carrying of passengers on 

STREETS in D. C, 

Alley in square 234, to vacate 

Alley in square 635, to convey 

Do 

Alley- ways in District, to change 

Lighting by gas of streets passing through the "Mall " 

Meridian avenue, confirming order to vacate 

O street NW., to close alley known as 

Pennsylvania avenue from Capitol to White House, to macadamize 

Do 

Do 

Rock street, in Georgetown, D. C, to vacate portion of 

SUFFRAGE in D.C., restricting right of 

Do 

SUPREME COURT ofD.C, 

Reporter for , 

Sessions and meetings of, to regulate 

SWISS GENERAL MUTUAL AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETY in D. C, to 

incorporate 

TAXES in D. C., 

Arrears of general taxes, collection of 

Arrears of, interest on 

Assessment and collection of, providing for 

Do 

Do 

Parsonages and rectories, providing for 

School property, defining act of 1870 concerning 

Settlement made by District Commissioners with Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road, to ratify 

TAX SALES in D. C, 

Advertising, to fimend charter of Georgetown relative to 

To regulate' 

TENNALLYTOWN ROAD in D. C. to make free 

THIRTEENTH STREET RAILWAY, D. C, to incorporate, in 

TITLES TO LAND inD.C, quieting 

Do 

TURNPIKE ROADS in D. C, purchasing toll-gates on 

UNCHARTERED BANKING ASSOCIATIONS. (See Banks.) 

UNIONTOWN, D. C, to change name to Anacostia 

UNITARIAN CHURCH PROPERTY in D. C, to lease for police court 

UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY of D. C, incorporation of .... 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT ATTORNEY. (See District Attorney.) 

UNITED STATES GAS AND FUEL COMPANY of D. C, to incorporate 

Do 

VERDL T. S., for relief 

VIRGINIA, 

Memorial of State, asking Congress to improve navigation of Potomac River. . 

Retrocession of that portion of District of Columbia south of Potomac River to. 

VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES in D. C, organization and encouragement of. 

WALBREDGE, H. D. and H. S., for reUef 

*And views of minority. t Parts 1, 2. 



980 
1445 

1010 
813 

959 

281 
375 
691 
58 
215 
1028 
592 



1103 


47 


1712 


48 


232 


45 


1371 


47 


988 


49 


2374 


49 


106 


29 


594 


30 


216 


34 


217 


34 


100 


35 


1884 


47 


1106 


48 


729 


49 


1012 


49 


1373 


47 


354 


35 


279 


48 


430 


47 


184 


21 


291 


22 


604 


24 


605 


47 


83 


19 


24 


28 


3819 


49 


3792 


49 


234 


45 


1779 


47 


3768 


49 


813 


47 


1202 


47 


1779 


47 


1573 


46 


980 


48 


1109 


46 


187 


21 


3769 


49 


1514 


47 


351 


47 


1271 


47 


1734 


47 


*410 


35 


171 


49 


*418 


45 


66 


36 


H928 


47 


1116 


48 


1113 


46 


111 


17 


325 


29 


207 


21 


1197 


47 



14 COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HOUSE. 



Subject. 



WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT, D. C, construction of 

"WASHINGTON BRIDGE, D.C., providinj; for sale of 

WASHINGTON CABLE RAILWAY, D.C., to incorporate 

WASHINGTON COUNTY, D. C, asking for reorganization of levy court, by 
citizens of 

WASHINGTON, D. C, 

Assessment law of 

F and G streets in city of, to straighten 

Gas company in, to establish 

bo 

Grounds in, relative to low 

Laud in, relative to square 446 

Lamps in city of, to erect 

Lotteries in, to regulate 

Mall, to light with <raa the streets passing through the 

Market-house from Capitol Hill, to remove , 

Park in, to purchase land for public 

Public force in, to establish an efficient 

Police improvements in 

Do 

Public lands in, to provide for sale of 

Relief of corporation of 

Sutt'rage in city of, to extend right of 

Title to land in, to quiet 

WASHINGTON, D. C, EYE, EAR, AND THROAT HOSPITAL, to incorporate . 

WASHINGTON, D. C, INFIRM ARYfrelative to management of 

WASHINGTON, D. C, MARKET COMPANY, 

Charter of, to repeal . . . 

Incorporation of, to amend act of 

WASHINGTON MONUMENT, 

Completion of 

Do 

Erection of 

Railway for flUiug about base of 

WASHINGTON (D. C.) SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY, to enlarge powers of.... 
WASHINGTON AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD, to authorize extension of, 

within D. C 

WASHINGTON AND CHESAPEAKE RAILROAD, to extend their raUroad 

into and within the limits of the D. C 

WASHINGTON AND POINT LOOKOUT RAILROAD, to authorize exten- 
sion of into and within D. C . . . 

WASHINGTON (D. C.) AND ROCKVILLE TURNPIKE COMPANY.to forfeit 

charter of 

WASHINGTON (D.C.) TRACTION RAILWAY, to incorporate 

WASHINGTON MONUMENTAL SOCIETY, memorial of officers and man- 
agers of 

WATER SUPPLY, D.C, 

To amend act for increasing 

To extend time for claiming damages caused by Increasing 

WATSON, GEORGE W., to quiet title to certain lands in district 

WEBB, W.B. (trustee), forrelief 

WELLS, THOMAS C, forrelief 

WHEATLY, WILLIAM, for relief 

Do 

WHOLESALE MARKET, D. C, to amend law relative to weighing hay at 

WILLIAMS, JAMES, forrelief 

WINDSOR HOTEL COMPANY, D. C, to incorporate 

WOOD in D. C, to repeal laws requiring inspection of 

YOUNG, JAMES, for relief 

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION of D. C, to exempt property of, 

from taxation 

Do 

YOUNG WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN HOME, D.C, to incorporate 



320 
484 
2549 



721 29 



83 
318 
592 
233 



814 45 
1110 46 

836 I 27 
48 : 16 

354 35 
1038 ! 25 
47 
27 
21 
22 
28 
23 
24 
28 
49 
45 
36 



64 
836 
184 
291 

91 
366 
269 

24 

4016 

235 

319 

1011 
139 

48 
1107 
*567 
3915 
3794 

1512 

197 

1513 

36 
2299 

483 

981 
2491 

317 
1906 

272 

197 

94 

2034 

682 
2933 
1576 

416 



1724 49 
3460 49 
1726 49 



*And views of minority. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF EEPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ ) No. 60. 



COLUMBIAN INSTITUTION FOE INSTRUCTION OF THE 
DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND. 

[To accompany Bill H. R., No. 247.] 



February 3, 1858. 




Mr. Deax, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made the 

following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to ivhom was inferred the 
petition of the directors of the Colibmhian Institution for the instruction 
of the deaf, dumh, and Mind, and also sundry citizens of the District 
of Columbia, asking aid from Congress to carry on the institution, 
have had the subject binder consideration, andbeg leave to rejJort : 

That the institution was incorporated by Congress at their last 
session, and the act of incorporation made provision for the payment 
out of the treasury of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum for 
the maintenance and tuition of each deaf, dumh, or blind pupil prop- 
erly belonging to the District of Columbia, whose parents or guardians 
were pecuniarily unable to give them the advantages of such an insti- 
tution. 

The institution thus organized commenced with fve pupils, which 
number has since been increased to seventeen, and a further increase 
of the number to tive7ity-five or more is anticipated within a year, 
while the number of this class of unfortunate persons who will "need 
the benefits of this institution wnll be fifty or more within a very few 
years. Of the seventeen pupils now in the institution, fifteen are 
supported by the government, and tiuo by their parents. 

Two things are obvious to your committee : 

First, that such an enterprise could not be started without pecuniarv 
grants from some source, and those not meagre or stinted. A few of 
the citizens of this District have contributed liberally for this purpose ; 
but the burden has borne hard upon the few who have struggled 
nobly to give it a hopeful commencement. It is, however, embarassed 
with a portion of the outlay absolutely essential to its first successful 
operation, which the subscription of the citizens was not sufiicient to 
meet. 

Second, the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars per annum is 



2 COLUMBIAN INSTITUTION. 

not sufficient to feed and clothe a pupil, and even when parents or 
guardians furnish the necessary clothing it leaves but a small surplus 
to meet the payment of salaries and other necessary expenses. To 
meet this deficiency but two sources are open to the directors. The 
first is by soliciting subscriptions from the benevolent. That source, 
always uncertain, has, however, during the late financial trouble, 
become wholly unavailable. The other alternative was to petition 
Congress for the necessary aid. This the petitioners have done. It is 
the opinion of your committee that it will be very difficult for the 
directors to carry on this institution, even in a crippled and inefficient 
condition, without some aid from the government. The object is one 
which commands the sympathy of the civilized world. This is seen 
in the liberal endowments and assistance which have been granted 
similar institutions in Europe, and among the different States of our 
confederacy. The Congress of the United States manifested their 
appreciation of the object not long after the introduction of the system 
of mute instruction into this country, by a generous donation of lands 
to the American asylum at Hartford, Connecticut, and of which that 
institution has accumulated a I'und of about §300,000. Grants of 
land have also been made by Congress to the deaf and dumb as well 
as the insane asylums of Kentucky, and the same body has also pro- 
vided most liberally for the insane of this District. Many of the 
States have also made ample provision for the instruction of tliese 
unfortunate classes of their population by the construction of build- 
ings, and a per capita allowance for indigent pupils, besides making 
annual appropriations to pay salaries and meet contingencies. The 
amount allowed last year for board, tuition, and clothing, in the New 
York institution for the deaf and dumb, was $180 for each pupil, in 
addition to which the legislature makes a regular appropriation of 
$5,000 per annum. 

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, North Carolina, 
Michigan, Texas, and perhaps other States, have institutions for the 
instruction of the deaf and dumb, or of the blind, or both, which have 
been established, and are supported, in whole or in part, by appropria- 
tions from the State treasuries. The committee cannot recommend 
Congress to he less mindful of that unfortunate class of our fellow 
beings within their jurisdiction than arc the legislatures of the several 
States enumerated. 

Your committee are informed that the average cost of su})porting 
deaf, dumb, and blind pupils in the principal State institutions, in- 
cluding the salaries of superintendent, matrons, and teacliers, and all 
contingencies, does not vary much from $200 each. When the number 
of pupils is small the cost of each must, of course, be greater, lor the 
expenses do not increase in the same proportion as the number of 
pupils increase. 

The directors of the Columbian Institution ask an annual appro- 
priation of $8,000, in addition to i\\e per capita allowance now pro- 
vided for, inorder to pay up arrearages, and pilace the institution upon 
a sure footing ; and with this the directors pledge themselves to meet 
all its current expenses without calling upon Congress for further aid. 
Your committee are of the opinion that such an amount is reasonable, 



COLUMBIAN INSTITUTION. ' 6 

and slioiild be granted. They therefore report a bill authorizing the 
payment of the amount requested, limiting it, however, to a term of 
Jive years. The committee have also thought proper to introduce a 
section placing the deaf, dumb, and blind children of persons in the 
military and naval service of the United States on the same footing 
in relation to this institution as the deaf, dumb, and blind in the 
District of Columbia. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. S ) No. 98. 



MAYOR OF GEORGETOWN, D. C. 

[To accompany Bill H. E. No. 274.] 



Februaby 9, 1858. — Ordered to be piinted. 



Mr. GooDE, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to lohom was referred the 
memorial of the mayor of Georgetoivn, praying to he reimbursed the 
sum offiae thousand dollars, advanced by the corporation of George- 
town toioards the construction of the bridge over the Potomac, at the 
Little Falls, have, according to order, had the same under considera- 
tion, and beg leave to submit the following report: 

In the month of March, 1853, the sum of thirty thousand dollars 
was appropriated by Congress for the construction of a bridge over the 
Potomac river, at a point known as the Little Falls, and the work was 
placed in process of construction, under the direction of George Thom, 
captain in corps of topographical engineers. 

In the fall of 1853, when the work had been prosecuted near to 
completion, the appropriation was found to be exhausted — -the sum of 
thirty thousand dollars having been expended — and it became neces- 
sary to suspend operations until other funds could be procured appli- 
cable to the object. 

It was supposed that several months must pass before an additional 
appropriation could be expected from Congress ; and the abandonment 
of the work, in an unfinished condition, at the approach of winter, 
must expose it to serious injury, whilst its suspension would involve 
a necessity for a sale of the stock on hand, by which the government 
would suffer a heavy loss. To avoid these evils, the officer in charge, 
on consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, applied to the cor- 
poral e authorities of Georgetown to advance a sum of five thousand 
dollars, which would enable him to continue his operations, and carry 
forward the bridge to a condition in which it might be used for travel 
during the then following winter. This proposition was acceded to, 
and, % several acts of the corporation, the sum of five thousand eight 
hundred dollars was placed to the credit and subject to the order of 
Captain Thom, to be expended in the construction of the Little Falls- 



2 MAYOR OF GEORGETOWN, D. C. 

bridge, his assurance being given, with the consent of the Secretary 
of the Interior, that the amount should be reimbursed to the corpora- 
tion of Georgetown when the further appropriation should be made by 
Congress. It also appears that some lien on the stock on hand was 
executed in favor of the corporation of Georgetown, as a security for 
the reimbursement of the amount advanced ; but it is believed that 
nothing was realized by the corporation from this lien, the entire stock 
having been applied to the uses of government. 

In August, 1854, Congress appropriated a further sum of fifteen 
thousand dollars for completing the bridge ; but a serious accident had 
befallen it, which created a necessity for the appropriation of a large 
sum, and the corporation of Georgetown postponed its claim for im- 
mediate payment, unwilling to delay the completion of the work ; 
accordingly, the sum of thirteen thousand eight hundred dollars, part 
of the appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars, was applied towards 
the completion of the bridge, leaving a balance of twelve hundred 
dollars, which was applied towards the payment of the sum of five 
thousand eight hundred dollars, leaving the sum of four thousand six 
hundred dollars due to the corporation of Georgetown ; for the pay- 
ment of which a bill is herewith reported. 



35x11 CoNGiiESS, \ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. ] ( ^^- ^^^• 



J. W. NYE, ASSIGNEE OF PETER BARGY, Jr., AND HUGH 

STEWART. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 275.] 



February 9, 1858. 



Mr. E. Joy Moreis, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, 

made the following 

REPORT. 

3Ir. Morris, from the Coinmittee for the District of Columbia, to whom 
loas referred the memorial of Rev. G. Hilt and eight other clergymen, 
the mayor, aldermen, president and members of the common council, 
district attorney, and one hundred and thirty-eight citizens of Wash- 
ington, D. C, praying an examination and settlement of three several 
claims of J. W, Nye against the government — one for services rendered 
and monies expended in maca^damizing Pennsylvania avenue, Wash- 
ington city, in 1832 ; one for furnishing horses and carriages for the 
service of the House of Representatives of the 28th Congress ; and the 
other for improving certain public grounds — beg leave to submit the 
folloiving report: 

That at the 1st session of the 22d Congress a law was passed for 
macadamizing forty-five feet of the centre of Pennsylvania avenue, 
from the Capitol to the executive offices, putting said improvement 
under the control of the Commissioner of Public Buildings, and direct- 
ing him to issue proposals. — (Laws of 22d Congress, 2d session, p. 
567.) The commissioner awarded said work to Peter Bargy, jr., of 
New York, and Hugh Stewart, of Pennsylvania, in nearly equal divi- 
sions, they being the lowest responsible bidders, and stipulating to 
perform the same at 62 cents per square yard. One j)art of said con- 
tract was as follows : "And it is further covenanted and agreed that if 
the said contractors shall not prosecute the said work in such manner, 
or make such rate of progress as the commissioner may deem necessary, 
or shall not work on such part or parts of the work hereby undertaken, 
and at such time or times as the commissioner may prescribe, or shall 
not increase the force employed by them, if so required by the commis- 
sioner, the said commissioner shall be at full liberty, and is hereby 
invested with full power and authority to employ or contract with any 



i 



2 J. W. NYE. 

other person or persons to complete the work hereby undertaken, at 
the proper cost and charge of the aforesaid contractors, without moles- 
tation, hindrance, or any interruption by said contractors in anywise 
or manner." — (H, Kep., 106, Doc. 3.) And the contractors were 
required to give ample security for the faithful performance of said 
contract. 

So severe were the terms of this contract the contractors were 
unwilling to sign it until, by actual experiment, they had ascertained 
they could make a reasonable profit on it. To test this, they were 
permitted to commence work without previously signing the contract. 
On the 14th of August the contract was regularly signed, and the 
necessary papers passed. — (Rep. 106, Doc. 3.) On the 18th of the 
same month the cholera broke out in the city, and raged with great 
violence, especially among the laborers on the work. Many were 
attacked while at work, and twenty persons (Rep. 106, Doc. 3) died 
in one night in the vicinity of the residence of the superintendent of 
the work. Physicians advised the laborers to leave the city_, (Rep. 
106, Doc. 16,) and most of them left the work. 

The commissioners, under these circumstances, applied to the com- 
missioner for i^ermission to suspend the work until the epidemic sub- 
sided ; but they were refused, and they were required to prosecute the 
work, or suffer it to be relet at their risk. — (Rep. 106, Docs. 7, 16, 
and 20.) The contractors had now no alternative left but to prose- 
cute the work under these disadvantages, or suffer it to go into other 
hands which they could not direct or control. 

They then offered an increased rate of wages ; but the mortality in- 
creased fearfully, and the commissioner, loithout consultation ivith the 
contractors, employed three physicians, who visited the men twice 
daily, advising them not to work either early or late, and not hard at 
any time.— (Rep. 106, Docs. 17, 18, 19, 21 , and 23.) The result was, 
that a mere nominal amount of labor was peformed by the men. The 
superintendent of the work thinks the men did not perform more than 
one-fourth part as much work in a day as they did before the cholera, 
(Rep. 106, Doc. 7,) and their wages were raised from 62^ and 75 cents 
per day to from $1 to $1 37^ per day.— (Rep. 106, Doc. 7.) The en- 
gineer employed by the government, who superintended the work, 
states, under oath, that he passed along the work several times every 
day, and took particular notice of the small amount of labor performed 
by the men, and tliat two men did not perform more work in a day 
than one did before the cholera. . The contractors were, consequently, 
compelled to employ iioo hundred men to perform the same amount of 
work in a given time that one hundred would have performed in the 
same time had the cholera not visited Washington, or had the con- 
tractors been allowed to have suspended their work during its influ- 
ence ; and their wages were raised at least fifty per cent. 

In justice to the contractors, and humanity to the laborers, the 
work ought to have been suspended. The refusal to suffer it to be 
suspended, and the interference of the physicians, employed by the 
government with the men, would seem to render the loss a just and 
an equitable claim against the government; and had not the contrac- 
tors assigned away their claim,, the committee consider that they would 



J. W. NYE. O 

he justly and equitably entitled to full remuneration for the diminished 
quantity of work performed by the men, and the increased price paid 
them to induce them to stay on the work. The commissioner who had 
charge of the work says (Rep. 106, Doc. 21) the contractors used a 
due degree of diligence in the prosecution of the work, and he considers 
them entitled to receive the full amount of their expenditures, and a 
reasonable compensation for their services and the responsibilities they 
were under in doing the work. 

But in the case of the present claimant, to whom Bargy & Stewart 
assigned their claims, it would seem to present still stronger claims 
on Congress ibr relief. He (Nye) had done a large share of this work 
as sub-contractor, amounting to as much as the additional amount 
claimed by said contractors against the government. The contractors 
offered to transfer their claims against the government to Nye, pro- 
vided he would accept it, and release them from all further liability to 
him. Nye had it presented to a number of members of both Houses 
of Congress for their examination and advice, who, after a careful ex- 
amination, informed him that they considered it a good and a valid 
claim, and that he would run no risk in accepting it and releasing 
them, and advised him to do so. — (Eep. 106, Doc. 38.) In support 
of their advice, they referred him to a number of precedents where 
Congress had granted relief, where the justice of the claims were not 
as clear as this. In consequence of this advice and these precedents 
pointed out to him by members of Congress, he took an assignment 
and released Bargy & Stewart from all further liability, thereby de- 
priving himself of any security but the jiostice, the honor, and the in- 
tegrity of Congress. Had he not released them, he could long ere this 
have obtained both principal and interest. Nye being at that time, 
from sickness, unable to prepare the necessary papers for presenta- 
tion to Congress, put them in the hands of the late F. S. Key, (then 
district attorney,) for him to prepare and present to Congress, in the 
name of Peter Bargy, jr., and Hugh Stewart, without informing Con- 
gress of their assignment — Bargy's being presented first. 

The funds for this work were entrusted to Mr. Conger, Mr. Bargy's 
clerk, who made his entries on page 79 of Bargy's ledger, kept by 
said Conger, showing the amount paid by him. Other bills were 
paid by Bargy himself, and entered by Conger on page 2 of the same 
ledger. Conger left the city, and went west at the conclusion of the 
work, and did not return. — (Rep. 106, Docs. 7 and 34.) The book 
was sent to Conger, that he might authenticate the accounts by oath, 
and show why certain judgments obtained against Bargy were not 
entered. His affidavit says : " The judgments obtained were for that 
work done in 1832 ; but were not entered because not 'paid, and that 
he entered nothing that was not actually paid out." — (Rep. 106, 
Doc. 13.) 

The books of the second year were kept, and the disbursements 
made, by Mr. Ford, clerk of I3argy, and Ford says that a considerable 
amount of the expenditures of the year 1832 were not paid until 
1833, and were not entered in Conger's books. — (R?p. 106, doc. 7.) 
Conger's was the only book sent to Mr. Key, and the amount entered 
on page 79_, as expenses of said work, and the above named judgments 



4 J. W. NYE, 

were all that were brought to his notice. Mr. Key presented to the 
Senate a claim for $5,645 — the amount of expenses entered by Conger 
on page 79 — and these judgments, more than the amount received 
from government for that work, which passed the Senate; but while 
the bill was before the Committee of Claims in the House, this error 
was discovered, viz: the omission to include the expenses paid by 
Bargy, and entered on page 2 of his ledger, and the money paid in 
1833 for work done in 1832, and entered by Ford, the new clerk of 
Bargy ; and the chairman of the committee proposed to make an 
amendment to the Senate bill, but the claimant, as it was near the 
close of the session, preferred to take the amount and apply to Con- 
gress at its next session for the balance, rather than take the risk of 
losing the present bill.— (Doc. G.) 

This bill passed the House March 9, 1839. At the next session 
the balance of this claim was presented to the House, and the com- 
mittee reported in favor of its payment, but the House did not act 
upon it. — (House Kep. 248, 2d sess. 2r)th Cong.) Since that time it 
has been sanctioned by several standing committees and one select 
committee, and passed the Senate. 

The claim of Stewart, for his losses, was presented to the Senate in 
1840, was sanctioned by the Committee of Claims, but not acted 
upoD. At the next session a report was also made in its favor by Mr. 
S. B. Leonard, chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds, in which he adopted a different rule for the settlement of 
this claim from that adopted in Bargy's case, which was to pay the 
whole expense of the work, so that, had a loss been sustained from 
the contract being taken too loio, or from other causes, government 
would have met the loss. Leonard's principle was to allow the 
claimant the loss proved by the diminished amount of labor per- 
formed by the men, and the increase of wages. This principle would 
seem to be the correct one, and it has been adopted by several stand- 
ing committees and one select committee. 

At the next Congress, Mr. Ward, chairman of the above committee, 
made a report, (H. Rep. 253, 2d sess., 57th Cong.,) in which he sus- 
tained the principle adopted by Mr. Leonard. He reported a bill 
allowing Stewart the same compensation as was allowed Bargy, in 
proportion to the work done, which passed both Houses, by which 
the claimants received $6,G66 25.— (Docs. A and B.) The balance 
of Stewart's loss, according to the principle established by Mr. 
Leonard, has since that time been sanctioned by a number of stand- 
ing committees and one select committee. The amount of work per- 
formed by Stewart during the prevalence of the cholera in 1832, at 
his contract price, was $10,924 60 (Doc. 4.) The amount done by 
Bargy, at the same time, was $7,871, 40, (Rep. 106, Doc. 29,) 
amounting in all to $18,796, to which amount, according to the rule 
adopted by former committees, one hundred per cent, ought to be 
added for loss of laber of the employes, the contractors haying been 
obliged to employ two hundred men to perform the labor of one hun- 
dred, could they have suspended operations during the cholera season; 
and to that amount add fifty per cent, for the increased price of labor, 
the contractors being obliged to increase the wages of the men in order 



J W. NYE. 5 

to induce them to continue on the work, (Rep. 106, Docs. 7, 16,) and 
from this amount subtract the amount heretofore received by the con- 
tractors and their assignee, and pay the balance, if any, to J. W. 
Nye, the assignee of said contractors. 

The amount due Nye from Bargy and Stewart, for this work, was 
as large as the amount claimed by them from the government^ so 
that, had he obtained it without any delay, he would have received 
no more than was justly due him for services rendered and monies ex- 
pended, of which the government has received the whole benefit. 

In justice to the claimant and his family, and to relieve Congress 
from any further importunity, the committee recommended an imme- 
diate settlement of said claims by referring them to the proper ac- 
counting officer of the treasury, with instructions to add one hundred 
per cent, to the contract price of said work for the diminished 
quantity of work performed by the men, and to that amount add fi.fty 
per cent, for the increased price of labor, and from that amount thus 
found, take the amounts paid the original contractors, their assignee 
or attorney, and should there remain any amount of that loss unpaid, 
that it be paid to the present claimant, J. W. Nye. On the settle- 
ment of the claim on the above principles, the First Comptroller of 
the Treasury shall require a receipt in full from said Nye, in satis- 
faction of all demands against the government for this claim. 



35th Congress, } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ ) No. 116. 



THE PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION. 



March 5, 1858.-^Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. BuRNETT_, from the Committe on the District of Columhia, made ] 

the following j 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the j 

memorial of the " Pharmaceutical Association of Washington City," 
praying for an act of incorporation by Congress, respectfully report : i 

That the prayer of the petitioners ought to be rejected, for the 
reasons that to grant it would permit the corporation to hold real 
estate without its members being individually liable for its debts; and 
because, if incorporated, the said association would possess a monopoly ' 

of the business for the purposes of which it has been constituted. 

They therefore ask to be discharged from the further consideration 
of the memorial. i 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. [ Report 
1st Session. S l ^o. 117. 



J. W. NYE. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 320.] 



March 5, 1858. 



Mr. Burnett, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

R E P O ii T . 

TJie committee beg leave to submit the folloioing report in regard to Nye's 
claim for improving a lot of public ground: 

That by an act approved 5th July, 1812, (Statutes at Larg-e, 1st 
session, 12th Congress, page 775,) the President of the United Slates 
was authorized to lease any of the public grounds in the city of Wash- 
ington, for a term not exceeding ten years, on such terms and condi- 
tions as, in his judgment, would best effect their improvement for 
public purposes. 

By an act of Congress the Tiber creek was, in 1833, changed from 
its original bed, between the avenue and the canal, to where it now 
flows, leaving the old bed of said creek an open, offensive channel. 
ThisMot of ground, in which was this channel, became the receptacle 
of the filth and rubbish of that part of the city, rendering it a public 
nuisance. This lot was bounded on the north by Pennsylvania avenue, 
east by the creek where it now flows, on the south by the canal, and 
the west by Third street, now known as the botanical garden. 

In 1843, J. W. Nye proposed to the President of the United States 
that, if the President would give him a lease of said ground for ten 
years, he would fill the old bed of Tiber creek, make a sewer to convey 
the water from the avenue to the creek, set out a row of shade trees 
along the avenue and along Third street, on the boarders of said lot, 
and put the ground in as high a state of cultivation as the other grounds 
around the Capitol ; and would enclose the ground with a board fencee, 
erect a carriage house and stable near the canal and Missouri avenue, 
and put no other buildings of any description on said piece of ground. 
When the proposition was made to the President, he objected to giving 
a lease for ten years, on the ground that it was thought by many that 
Congress would direct the location of the Smithsonian Institution on 
that lot. To obviate that objection, Nye consented to agree to relin- 
quish said grounds should Congress see fit otherwise to dispose of them, 
and to remove his fence and stable from said ground whenever required 
by the government so to do, without any claim on government for said 



2 J. W. NYisl. 

improvement. When remonstrated with for making this offer, Nye 
said he would as willingly take it with this condition as without it, 
having no fear, should Congress desire to appropriate it to any other 
purpose after he had made the improvements, that any member of 
Congress would consent that it should be taken from him without 
making him sufficient compensation for his exi:»enditures ; and that 
they would as willingly do it as though it had been so expressed in the 
lease. Major Noland, the Commissioner of Public Buildings, remon- 
strated with Nye for making this offer, telling him that it would cost 
at least five thousand dollars to make said improvements. 

He obtained a lease from President Tyler, on the 29th day of April, 
1843, on the aforesaid conditions. 

He planted the trees in November of the same year, agreeable to 
his contract. He was three years in making the improvements required 
by the lease, having expended over twenty-nine hundred dollars in 
making said improvements, besides putting nearly three hundred dol- 
lars' worth of manure on said ground, making an expenditure of about 
three thousand two hundred dollars, besides his own services, in making 
said improvements — he having kept no account of work done by him- 
self; most of the work, filling up and hauling soil to spread on the 
ground, being done by his own teams and hands. 

The fourth year he raised a very large crop of corn and other vege- 
tables on said lot, the ground having been put in a very high state of 
cultivation. The ffth year he had it put in a high state of pre- 
paration for a crop, but the Commissioner of Public Buildings (Mr. 
Charles Douglass) requested him to let the lot lie open long enough to 
enable him to have the creek, near the avenue, walled up ; and when 
the Commissioner got the walling done, it was too late to raise any- 
thing on it that year. In the ensuing fall or winter this walling Avas 
washed away, and Congress having made an appropriation for walling 
the creek from the avenue to the canal, the Commissioner requested 
Nye to let the lot lie open in order to more conveniently make said 
improvements, promising Nye that he would get his lease extended 
as long as he was deprived of its use during both years, to which Nye 
consented. The Commissioner did not get the improvements made 
until winter; Nye was consequently deprived of its use that year also. 
During that Congress an appropriation was introduced in the Senate 
for enclosing the public grounds on the north, south, and west front 
of the Capitol. Nye called on one of the senators to know if it was 
intended to include the lot leased to him, and was informed that it was 
not. After said ap[)ropriation was made, the Commissioner informed 
Nye that he was going to enclose the square between the Capitol and 
that occupied by Nye with a high paling fence, and requested him to 
remove his board fence and let the Commissioner extend his pcding fence 
around both squares, at the same time assuring him that it was in no 
wav to interfere with him in his occupancy of said lot until the expira- 
tion of his lease, to which Nye assented. After the Commissioner 
had enclosed said lot, he called on Nye to remove his carriage house 
and <nve up the lot, which Nye refused to do, and sent a memorial to 
the Senate to ascertain if it was their intention to deprive him of his 
lease without compensation. The memorial was referred to the Com- 



J. W. NYE. 3 

mittee on Public Buildings and G-rounds, but not acted upon. This 
Commissioner being removed in a few days, and another appointed, 
Nye proceeded to sow the lot with oats ; but, a short time before the 
oats were sufficiently ripe for cutting, the new Commissioner demanded 
of Nye the key of the gate, which he refused to surrender until the 
expiration of his lease. The next day he found the lock broken from 
the gate, and the oats mowed and raked up for fodder ; and from that 
time Nye was refused the occupancy of the lot. And the use of said 
lot for one year only, after the improvements Nye made, is all the 
compensation he has ever received. 

Without the authority of Congress, the Commissioner had no right 
to bar his occupanci/ of the grounds under the lease of the President of 
the United States. 

The lease was given in good faith, and with the intent that it should 
run its full term if Nye fulfilled the conditions ; and there is no evi- 
dence that he did not to the letter. 

At the commencement of the last Congress the mayor, aldermen, 
members of the common council, and some one hundred and thirty 
very respectable citizens of Washington, feeling a deep interest in Nye 
and his suffering family, memorialized Congress, praying that "a 
liberal and generous settlement of his claims " might be made. 

This memorial, with the papers in the case were referred to the Com- 
mittee for the District of Columbia; they, after having fully examined 
the claim, finding that Nye, having stated under oath, he had ex- 
pended, in money, $2,900 for improvements, and had used about $300 
worth of manure on the said lot, in addition to his own labor, reported 
a. joint resolution in his favor for the sum of $3,200, which passed the 
House, was sent to the Senate and referred to the Committee for the 
District of Columbia of that body ; when that committee examined 
the case they found no testimony showing what was the actual cost or 
worth of the work that had been done. It therefore became necessary 
for Nye to furnish that evidence to the committee before they would 
agree to report in favor of the House resolution. Accordingly, Nye 
procured the services of W. W. Birth, esq., a highly respectable citi- 
zen of this city, (a sworn measurer) to measure the work, also state- 
ments made by other respectable citizens accustomed to doing such 
work, sustaining that of Mr. Birth, some of them naming a much 
larger sura than Mr. Birth. This additional evidence having been 
submitted to the Senate committee, they reported in favor of the reso- 
lution, which was passed and the money paid. 

The statement made by Mr. Birth shows that the actual cost of the 
work done by Nye on said lot, at a fair and reasonable price, amounts 
to the sum of $7,982 84 

From which Nye makes the following deductions : 
Cr. 

By cash received from treasury $3,200 00 

By cash from sale of materials 210 00 

By use of square or lot one year 1-7 1,140 40 

4,550 40 

3,432 44 



4 J. W. NYE. 

Leaving tiie above balance in Nye's favor, which ne claims as being 
equitably and jusihj cine him. 

The measurement of this work was not an after thought of Nye, 
and never thought of by him until suggested by the Senate committee, 
and what is now claimed is not for damages, but for services rendered 
and moneys expended, which the government has received, and had 
Nye not have made those improvements. Congress would have been 
called upon to appropriate that amount of money, and perhaps more, 
for that purpose. 

The committee are, therefore, of the opinion that the said Nye should 
be paid the sum of , and report a bill herewith. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES. J Report 
1st Session. S / No. 352. 



R. R. RICHARDS. 

[To accompany Res. No. 9.] 



April 28, 1858. 



Mr. GooDE, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the 
petition of B. R. Richards, submit the following report : 

In the spring of 1853 Rev. R. R. Richards was appointed a clerk 
in the Department of the Interior, at a salary of one thousand four 
hundred dollars. At an early day thereafter he was appointed chap- 
lain to the United States penitentiary, at a salary of two hundred and 
fifty dollars per annum, though it was then provided by law that a 
person holding any office under this government, and receiving an 
annual salary for the same, should not receive additional compensa- 
tion for other services rendered, or for the execution of the duties of 
any other office, whilst holding such original office, and receiving the 
salary therefor. 

Mr. Richards continues to hold the clerkship to the present time, 
and held the office of chaplain, and performed the duties thereof, for 
three years and three months, alleging that he did not know of the 
provision of law which made it unlawful for him to receive the salary 
as chaplain. He applied to the 34th Congress to increase his salary 
as chaplain from two hundred and fifty dollars to six hundred dollars 
per annum. This subject was brought to the attention of the Com- 
mittee for the District of Columbia of the House of Representatives, 
and rejected after full examination. At the close of the session to 
which was made the application for an increase of salary, there was 
inserted in one of the appropriation bills a clause appropriating six 
hundred dollars to pay the annual salary of the chaplain of the peni- 
tentiary, and the clause was construed to have a retrospective opera- 
tion, iind to authorize the chaplain to receive compensation at the 
rate of six hundred dollars per annum from the date of his original 
appointment; and he did receive such compensation accordingly, and 
continued to receive it, until he had filled the office about three years 
and three months, notwithstanding the provision of law that he 
should not receive any compensation for performing the duties of 



2 R. K. KICIIARDS. 

chaplain whilst holding his clerkship in the Department of the 
Interior. 

The sum thus realized by Mr. Richards, against the express provi- 
sion of law, is about sixteen hundred and fifty dollars in cash actually 
received, to which he asks that three hundred dollars shall be added, 
claimed by him on account of his service for the last six months of his 
service as chaplain, and which the accounting officers of the treasury 
refused to allow. 

During the three years and three months which Mr. Richards acted 
as chaplain, he received his annual salary as a clerk in the Department 
of the Interior, at the rate of fourteen hundred dollars per year, equal 
in the aggregate to $4,550, to which add the |1,650 received as pay for 
his services as chaplain, making the sum of $6,200 already received, al- 
though he had no legal demand for more than $4,550. 

It has been stated already that the legal salary of the chaplain, 
when Mr. Richards received the appointment, was $250 per annum. 
This provision of the general law remains the same ; but clauses have 
been inserted in general appropriation bills appropriating six hundred 
dollars per annum to pay the salary, which affect the only modifica- 
tion of the law. If Congress shall decide that, in consequence of his 
alleged ignorance of the law, he has an equitable claim to the salary of 
chaplain as established by law when he accepted it, then he would 
have been entitled to receive for the whole term of his service the sum 
of eight hundred and twelve dollars and fifty cents ; but for that term 
he has already received $1,650, being $837 50 more than such equita- 
ble claim, which sum he now justly owes to the government, even on 
such construction of law. 

If Congress shall be of opinion that his account should be settled ac- 
cording to the law of the case, he is now indebted to government in 
the sum of $1,650, exclusive of the $300 which he now claims. 

Under all the circumstances of the case, the committee have deter- 
mined to instruct the chairman to report back the resolution to the 
House^ with a recommendation that it do not pass. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report* 
1st Session. \ ) No. 353 



PROVIDENT ASSOCIATION OF CLERKS IN THE CIVIL DE. 

PARTMENTS. 

[To accompany Bill S. 151.] 



April 28, 1858. 



Mr. Scales, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the 
memorial of the Provident Association of Clerks, praying for a dis- 
solution of said association, having had the same under consideration, 
beg leave to report : 

That according to the terms of the charter of said association, sa 
contained in the 21st article, Congress has no right to authorize its 
dissolution in such manner as asked for by the petitioners, and could 
not, as your committee submits, do so without a violation of the 
charter and an interference with vested rights. They therefore unani- 
mously recommend the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the prayer of the memorialists be not granted. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPEESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ I No. 354. 



GAS LIGHTS FOR CERTAIN STREETS ACROSS THE MALL. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 540.] 



April 28, 1858. 



Mr. GooDEj from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to ivhom luas referred tlie 
petition of sundry citizens of Washington, praying for an appropriation 
to light loiih gas certain streets passing through the reservation of land 
in the city commonly known as the ''Mall," have, according to order, 
had the same under consideration, and beg leave respectfully to report: 

The " Mall" to which the petitioners refer is composed of the public 
grounds which lie on the south of the Washington canal, extending 
from Tiber creek, on the Potomac, comprehending the Washington 
Monument and Smithsonian Institute, and terminating near the public 
green-houses, on Third street. It is described on the map of the city as 
reservationss 2 and 3, and is penetrated by the several streets which 
intersect Pennsylvania avenue between the Capitol and Treasury De- 
partment, the most important of which are Four-and-a-half, Seventh, 
and Twelfth ; and it is represented to the committee that the petition- 
ers would be content with an appropriation which would furnish lights 
on these three streets. 

The public grounds separate from the body of the city a large popu- 
lation occupying lots south of the " Mall/' who cannot reach Penn- 
sylvania avenue otherwise than by traversing these grounds, and it 
appears reasonable that the streets should be lighted at the expense 
of the proctors, and that government, like other proprietors, should 
incur tlie expense of lighting the streets through the public grounds. 

The committee accordingly recommend that the sum of six thousand 
four hundred dollars be appropriated for the object mentioned, and 
report a bill accordingly. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report. 
1st Session. \ } No. 355. 



MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COMMON COUNCIL OF GEORGE- 
TOWN. 

[To accompany J. Eee. No. 27.] 



April 28, 1858. 



Mr. Scales, from the Committee for the District of Columbia made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to whom was referred 
the memorial of the mayor, aldermen and common council of George- 
town, in relation to the erection of lamp posts, &c., from the western 
termination of Pennsylvania avenue, through Bridge and High streets, 
have had the same under consideration, and find that at the last session 
of Congress the sum of four thousand dollars was appropriated for 
this purpose ; that the same has been expended,, but found insufficient 
to complete the work. Your committee, therefore, in order to carry 
out the original design of Congress, which can be done by a small 
additional appropriation, beg leave to report the accompanying resolu- 
tion. 



35th Congress, ] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. C Report 
1st Session. S I No. 356. 



IRON PAVEMENT AND STREET RAILWAY ON PENNSYL- 
VANIA AVENUE. 



April 28, 1858. 



Mr. Ward, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to ivhom ivas referred the 
memorial of A. P. Robinson, J. E. Beeside, Clinton Bice, and T. M. 
Braine, praying that Congress will authorize a contract to he entered 
into for manufacturing and laying an iron pavement and railway, 
with horse power, for the transportation of passengers on Pennsyl- 
vania avenue ; also the memorial of George & Thomas Parker & Co., 
Willliam B. Jackson, Noah Walker rfc Co., and others, citizens of the 
District of Columbia, requesting Congress to take into consideration 
the sidyject of repaving Pennsylvania avenue in such manner and loith 
such materials as may be most conducive to the health and other inter- 
ests of the residents of the metropolis, submit the following report : 

The memorialists ask that the President of the United States be 
authorized to make, or cause to be made, a contract with Bayard 
Clarke, Asa P. Robinson, and Gilbert Vanderwerken, or their repre- 
sentatives, for paving, with cast-iron pavement, and otherwise im- 
proving Pennsylvania avenue, from the Capitol gates to Georgetown ; 
and they propose, in case the said contract is authorized and made, 
to keep the whole of said pavement in perfect repair for the term of 
twenty-one years, at their own proper cost and without further cost 
to the government : Provided, they shall be further authorized to in- 
corporate in said pavement, at their own expense, four parallel grooved 
rails, forming a double track tramway of suitable gauge, and to run 
thereon, for said term of twenty-one years, public carriages, to be 
drawn by horse power, for the transportation of passengers, subject 
at all times to the ordinances of the city of Washington ; receiving 
therefor such rates of fare as may be established by the said city gov- 
ernment, not less, however, than five cents for each passenger ; and 
at the expiration of said term of years they propose to deliver over, 
without charge, to the said city the tramway, in good order, the city 
paying the/n or their legal representatives only for the carriajjes, 



2 IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 

horses, buildings, real estate, and materials appertaining to the oper- 
ation of the road, the value thereof to be ascertained by a fair ap- 
praisement. And they propose, furthermore, that the authorities of 
the said city shall have the right, at any time during the said term of 
twenty-one years, to take possession of the tramway, upon tlie pay- 
ment by the city for the property belonging to the company con- 
nected therewith and the appraised value of the unexpired franchise. 
And they propose and agree, further, that in case of a failure on their 
part to fulfil the stipulations of the contract entered into, all the 
privileges granted to them shall be forfeited. 

It appears the proposition of the memorialists is warmly supported 
by the citizens ot both Wai^hington and Georgetown, manifested by 
numerously signed petitions. 

In presenting, therefore, this subject for the consideration of Con- 
gress, it is proper briefly to review some of the most important ques- 
tions that arise in connexion with the application of the memorialists. 

1. Is the repaving of Pennsylvania avenue, at this time, necessary 
-or expedient ? 

2. If so, does the cast-iron pavement fulfil better than any other 
the requirements of a good pavement, viz : durability, cleanliness, 
beauty, and facility of removal and replacement, for the laying down 
of water and gas i)ipe8, or for sewerage ; also for ease of drait, a firm 
foothold for horses, and ultimate economy of cost. 

3. Is a railway, properly constructed and under good management, 
necessary or advisable for the transi)ortation of passengers in this 
principal avenue? and what would be its probable effect upon the 
business and the value of the property situated therein ? 

4. Is the franchise which the memorialists ask of such a nature as 
to become a monopoly antagonistic to the interests of the government 
or city ? 

These important queries it is proposed fairly to examine. It can- 
not be denied that the present pavement of the carriage way in 
Pennsylvania avenue is of the most inferior description, so much so, 
that the question of repaving and improving it has been repeatedly 
and earnestl}' brought to the attention of Congress. It is not only in 
reference to the ordinary business of the city, but also that of the 
government, that the subject demands attention. Penusvlvania 
avenue is the great artery of the metropolis, tlirough which all must 
travel who have any connexion with its affairs. The principal public 
offices are mostly on the line of this highway, with the Ca})itol at one 
end and the Executive mansion in a direct line, more than a mile 
distant, surrounded by the four principal departments, with the 
Smithsonian Institution on the one side, and the Post and Patent 
Offices about equi-distant on the other ; while east of the Capitol it is 
the route of travel to the Navy Yard, and west of the War Depart- 
ment, to Georgetown, and that portion of the city where the heads of 
the departments, the diplomatic corps, the chiefs of the different 
bureaus, and other officials connected with the government, generally 
reside, enhancing its importance as a thoroughfare far beyond any 
other avenue or street in the city.. In the original plan of the me- 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 3 

tropolis, and in the location of the public buildings, this noble avenue 
was laid out as the grand trunk of the whole system — and with that 
view was made of extraordinary width ; the wisdom of this provi- 
sion is demonstrated from year to year, as its importance and its 
travel increases. Viewing it, therefore, as the grand approach to 
the Capitol, this avenue presents the strongest claims to improve- 
ment, both on the score of utility and propriety. There is no city 
of importance throughout the Union^ where any facilities whatever 
exist for paving, whose principal thoroughfares are so notoriously in- 
ferior. In the city of New York, its principal street is laid with 
Russ pavement, Cortlandt and a portion of Nassau street with iron, 
many other streets with the Belgian pavement. In Boston, Tremont 
and other streets are paved with granite blocks ; Howard and Court 
streets, and a portion of Washington street, with iron ; Chestnut and 
other streets in Philadelphia are laid with Russ pavement. In the 
vicinity of Cincinnati and Louisville, no materials for the Russ or 
Belgian pavement being found, the cobble is used, but great care is 
taken in the selection of the stones, to have them small, uniform in 
size, and laid in a particular mannei'. New Orleans has transported 
granite from New York for its principal streets. 

The immense expenditure involved in pavements give additional 
importance to the subject ; expenditures arising not only from the 
original cost but by the constant demand for repairs, and so intimately 
is this question connected with the interests of every large city, that 
it is yearly attracting increased attention, and an allusion to it in this 
connexion will not be inappropriate. The cost of cobble varies from 
fifty cents to one dollar per square superficial yard ; that of Belgian 
pavement from three to six dollars per square yard, and of Russ pave- 
ment from six to ten dollars per square yard. The costs of the various 
description of stone pavement depend much on the facilities of obtain- 
ing tiie material, the quantity and weight required being so great 
that transportation to any considerable distance becomes an important 
part thereof. The cost of iron is not so seriously afi'ected by transpor- 
tation ; for while of stone three-fourths of a ton is required for a 
square yard of pavement, one-tenth to one-eighth of a ton of iron is 
sufficient. 

The objections to cobble pavement are sufficiently obvious. The 
larger the stones of which it is composed the less are rej^airs needed, 
though it is more rough, and noisy, and destructive to vehicles ; the 
smaller the stone used, the smoother and easier it is for a time, but 
the more difficult and expensive it becomes to preserve the surface. 
It is dusty in dry weather and muddy in wet. It is anything but 
ornamental in its appearance, and the only recommendation which it 
seems to have is the cheapness of its first cost. The Belgian is but a 
superior description of cobble pavement, better for a short time, be- 
cause presenting a smoother surface, but soon partaking of all its faults. 
The general plane of its surface becomes broken and the stones wear 
round on the top, resembling, after a time_, a large sized cobble. If it 
is laid in cement and on a bed of concrete, so that one stone cannot 
settle below another, then it wears to the smoothness of the Russ 
pavement, and becomes dangerous and destructive to horses, These 



4 IRON TAVEMENT, ETC, 

are the principal difficulties and objections to the different kinds of 
stone pavement, and they are the result of experience and a fair trial. 
The pavement of Broadway, in New York city, has become a positive 
nuisance, although beautiful in appearance and easily cleaned ; there 
are times when, from extreme cold or from a slight accumulation of 
frost, it has been found necessary for the omnibuses to abandon it en- 
tirely, and use the parallel streets, which are paved with cobble, be- 
cause horses could not sfand upon it ; and the government of the city, 
through the medium of a committee, has been endeavoring, for months 
past, to ascertain some cheap and speedy means of remedying the dif- 
ficulty. Grooving it by hand has been tried, but has not been found 
to answer. The more it is grooved the faster it has been found to 
wear away. 

The removal of pavements for the purposes of laying down water or 
gas pipes, and for repairs of sewers and pipes, is constantly necessary. 
Experience has shown that no stone pavement yet invented can be 
disturbed for this purpose without ruining it. This is more particu- 
larly the case with the Euss pavement, and no rougher or more ob- 
jectionable pavement can be found in New York city than sections of 
Broadway, where the pavement has been disturbed, and the cost of 
taking uj) and relaying it has been found, in some cases, to exceed the 
original cost. 

In the endeavor to avoid these various difficulties, an expedient was 
tried last year, in Wall street. New York, with square blocks of a 
size much larger than those used in the Euss pavement. To avoid 
cost and difficulty of taking up and relaying, these blocks were laid in 
gravel ; to obtain a surface which should not be slippery, the stone 
used was of a very coarse grain. 

The result, with but a year's use, is a pavement worn out and 
worthless. So far experience has shown that it will not do to depend 
upon the nature of the material for adhesion, as the finer and harder 
stone wears smooth, while the coarser stone will not withstand the 
travel. The /orm of surface must be depended on to secure the proper 
foothold for horses, and this form cannot be obtained with stone 
except by using small pebbles, or by the expensive grooving of granite 
blocks, seriously impairing their durability. 

It is evident that, with the proper form of surface, iron fulfils this 
condition better than any other material, and it is quite as evident 
that iron can more readily be wrought into the proper form of surface 
than any other material. 

The duty of the concrete foundation under a Euss pavement is simply 
to prevent any one stone from settling below those that surround it. 
If the blocks could be connected by dowelling, or other processes, this 
foundation would not be required, and the rigidity of this pavement 
would be avoided. No practicable way of accomplishing this in stone 
has yet been found. It is quite evident that iron offers every facility 
for accomplisliing this object ; the blocks may be cast in such a 
manner that each in its turn is supported by all with which it lies in 
contact. Neither the form of surface or the manner of connecting the 
blocks has any bearing upon the question of the cost, except as it may 



IRON PAVEMENT. ETC. 

affect the weight of tlie pavement. It costs no more to mould tliem 
with a proper surface, and with proper connexions, than to mould 
them smooth, and without those connexions. It is simply a question 
of weight of material. The hlocks, when laid in place, mutually 
supporting each other, require simply a foundation of gravel, pro- 
ducing a dead elasticity, which avoids the destructive action upon the 
feet of horses producetl by the rigidity of the Russ pavement. Hence 
the surface of the iron pavement may be chilled in the process of 
casting, rendering it so hard as to be almost indestructible. Iron 
pavement was laid down in Howard street, Boston, in the fall of 1852, 
and has been in constant use since that time, without the slightest 
repair, and with no perceptible effect of wear. It was laid in Court 
street, in that city, in 1853, and to this time is in the most perfect 
condition, and has required no repairs. It has since been laid in 
Washington street. 

Iron pavement has been used in Nassau street, New York, since 
1854. It is apparently in as perfect condition as when first laid 
down. 

The applicability of iron for the purposes of a pavement has ceased 
to be an experiment. A committee of the common council of New 
York, to whom was referred the question of paving Cortlandt street 
and Maiden lane in that city, after a very full investigation of the 
subject, made in July, 1855, a report in which they make a comparison 
of the cost of various descriptions of pavement, for periods of 20, 30, 
40, and 50 years, including first cost, maintenance, interest, &c. 

They assume as a basis the first cost of the various pavements, as 
follows: 

Cobble 50 cents per square yard. 

Belgian $3 00 per square yard. 

Granite block $6 50 per square yard. 

Cast-iron $6 00 per square yard. 

From data obtained from the proper departments, they set forth 
the annual cost of repairs, as follows : 

Cobble 50 cents per square yard. 

Belgian 5 per cent, of its cost and to be serviceable for ten years. 

Russ 2 per cent, of its cost and to be serviceable for twenty years. 

Iron 2 per cent, to 8 and to be serviceable for fifty years. 

From this data they report the following results as cost for a series 
of years, making an allowance for the value of the iron, after the 
pavement may be considered worn out. 

1. Gohhle. 

1 square yard for 20 years |18 55 

1 square yard for 30 years 32 82 

1 square yard for 40 years. 50 63 

1 square yard for 50 years 72 00 

2. Belgian. 

1 square yard for 20 years 19 17 

1 square yard for 30 years 34 36 

1 square yard for 40 years , 55 81 

1 square yard for 50 years 80 21 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 



3. Buss. 

1 squ.are yard for 20 years §20 09 

1 square yard for 30 years 43 75 

1 square yard for 40 years 84 86 

1 square yard for 50 years 135 40 

4. h-on. 

1 square yard for 20 years 12 35 

1 square yard for 30 years 18 90 

1 square yard for 40 years 21 05 

1 square yard for 50 years 25 25 

They say " the comparative results, taking a street half a mile in 
length, and thirty feet wide, paved with each kind of pavement, and 
based upon periods of 20, 30, 40, and 50 years, are " 



Years. 



Iron. 



20 


$108,680 


30 


166.320 


40 


185,246 


50 


222,024 



Cobble. 



$163,240 
278,728 
445,544 
633,600 



Belffian. 



$168,606 
302,236 
491.128 
705.848 



Russ. 



8176,729 

385,000 

746, 768 

1,191,520 



They further say: "By the above recapitulation, it will therefore 
be seen that the difference in favor of the adoption of the iron pave- 
inentj in its ultimate saving to the city for these periods, is as follows:" 

On a street half a mile in length and thirty feet wide — 



Years. 


Over Cobble. 


Over Belgian. 


Over Euss. 


20 
30 
40 
50 


$54,360 
112,408 
260,304 
411,576 


$60,016 
135,916 
305,888 
483,824 


$68,112 
218,680 
561,528 
969,496 



The committee recommended that these streets should be paved with 
iron, and accordingly contracts were made. Cortlandt street has 
been paved, and Maiden lane will be, undoubtedly, the coming 
summer. 

Abundant certificates are furnished in favor of the iron pavement, 
both in respect to beauty as well as all the other requisites of a pave- 
ment, among which are the following. Tiie certificate below was 
given in the fall of 1854, and is presented as representing the opinion 
of parties who have had every opportunity of coming to a correct 
conclusion : 

" The undersigned, citizens of Boston, doing business on Court 
street, opposite the iron pavement, take pleasure in stating that the 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC, 7 

iron pavement is, in our judgment, superior to any other in use witli 
which we are acquainted, particularly in its freedom from noise, dust, 
mud, and slipping. It adds much to the beauty of the street and 
enhances the value of property upon it, and from the test thus far 
made, we believe that it will last much longer than the granite block 
pavements. 

" This pavement remains as firm as when first laid down, and still 
presents the same even, beautiful surface." 

This certificate is signed by every firm doing business on both sides 
of Court street, opposite the iron pavement, except one, and is endorsed 
as follows : 

" I fully concur in the opinion expressed by the above persons, 
residing and doing business in Court street, opposite the iron pave- 
ment. 

''ABBOTT LAWRENCE." 

The following certificates, in regard to the iron pavement io Nassau 
street. New York, are also presented as embodying the views of all 
who have examined its operation : 

"■ I have examined the pavement, as now laid down in Nassau street, 
and take great pleasure in saying that I believe it superior to any 
pavement I have ever seen. I am fully of the opinion that if such a 
pavement was now in Broadway it would return its whole cost to the 
community in less than three years, by the saving of time ; by enabling 
horses to draw heavier loads, to stop and start more quickly, to travel 
faster with safety, and in the saving of sprinkling so often, and the 
greater freedom from dust and mud, and consequent injury to the busi- 
ness, comfort, and safety of all who pass in that great thoroughfare of 
our city. 

"PETER COOPER." 

The following is the testimonial of draymen of respectability, whose 
stand is on the iron pavement in Nassau street : 

"The undersigned, draymen inthecity of New York, cheerfully state, 
that having used the iron pavement in Nassau street almost hourly 
since it was laid down, we regard it as superior to all other kinds of 
pavement used in this city in its freedom from noise, dust^ mud, and 
slipping. We had rather start a full load on it than an empty dray 
on the granite blocks ; and would sooner draw a load of one ton on it 
than half a ton on the granite blocks. We would add that our stand 
being on the iron pavement we have had good opportunity of judging 
of the effect of travel upon it. 

"JAMES M. STREETER, 
" HENRY S. WE Y ANT, 
"D. B. ANDREWS, 
"NATHANIEL FELLOWS." 

None of the pavements above referred to were chilled upon the sur- 
face ; and it is fair to assume, from all experience in the use of cast- 
iron, that the chilled surface will last twice as long as that of the or- 
dinary surface cast in sand. 



8 IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 

Cleanliness is an important condition in a pavement. The accu- 
mulation of dirt upon all of the stone pavements, except the Russ, is 
a noticeable feature ; and is caused by the earth from below being 
forced up through the interstices between the stones. It is avoided 
in the Euss pavement by the solid concrete foundation upon which the 
blocks rest, and this is the only pavement in which this accumulation 
is avoided. Hence the necessity in a pavement resting on gravel or 
earth foundation that the joints should be close and well fitted. This 
cannot be done with stone without an exorbitant outlay, and iron is 
again suggested as offering every facility. It may be cast of such 
form, without increase of expense, as will make a perfectly close sur- 
face, confining the material below beyond possibility of escape, Not 
only is the carriage way kept clean, but the liability to settle is 
avoided, and a perfect surface is preserved. The form of pavement 
which it is proposed to lay down in Pennsylvania avenue is shown in 
the accompanying plan. Each block consists of a cylinder of about 
twelve inches in diameter and about four inches in depth, standing 
upon its end, the top being covered by a sexagonal plate projecting 
about three-fourths of an inch all around outside of the cylinder. 
This plate is about thirteen and a half inches across between its 
parallel sides, and its surface is corrugated by convex projections or 
bosses about three inches in diameter and three-fourths of an inch in 
height, arranged according to a regular system, by which the lines of 
the projections run obliquely across the street. The interior of the 
cylinder is strengthened by six ribs, or partitions, radiating from the 
centre to the circumference ; each of the cells thus formed being cov- 
ered by one of the bosses. The whole forms one single casting. The sur- 
face of the blocks being sexagonal, when laid in place the whole surface 
of the street is covered, and no interstices or spaces for the escape of the 
earth below are left. The lower edges of the cylinder and partitions are 
sharp, and the block is driven down into the foundation until the whole 
interior is filled, and the top has a firm bearing upon the material below. 
At the angles a space is left for the insertion of a key of cast-iron of 
such form that when driven down and turned to its place the blocks 
are confined together and mutually supported ; each block depending 
upon the six which surround it. No block can settle below the others, 
nor can any series of blocks settle without a corresponding elevation 
in some other portion of the pavement, because the material below 
cannot escape, and, by means of ribs on the exterior of the cylinders, 
the blocks are in contact for their whole depth, forming an arch of 
cast-iron. It is for this reason well calculated for localities where 
gravel cannot be procured, and where it is necessary to pave in an 
alluvial soil, such as is found in southern and western cities. The 
corrugated surface is chilled in process of casting, rendering it so hard 
as not to be affected by the action of a file. The gutters are of cast 
iron, run in convenient lengths, and of tlie required dimensions; con- 
nected with the pavement by a process of keying in the same manner 
that the blocks are connected together, the whole forming one single 
connected structure from one side to the other, with no weak or defec- 
tive points in which ruts can be worn. When repairs are needed, or 
it is necessary to remove any one section for the purposes of water ^ 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 9 

gas, or seiverage, it is readily unlocked by the removal of ten keys, 
serving to displace ttvo blocks, after ivhich they are removed laterally. 
They may he replaced in the same manner, and when again keyed the 
pavement is as perfect a structure as ichen first laid. 

This plan of pavement seems to fulfill every condition required in a 
perfect carriage way. It is ornamental, (as without any additional 
cost the surface can be wrought into any required patterns,) and suitable 
for any particular locality. The foothold is perfect, depending upon 
the form of surface without regard to matetial. The bosses are so 
shaped and so arranged, and are at such distances apart, that the 
draft is smooth and easy. The blocks are so connected and supported 
that a perfect surface is preserved without reference to the quality of 
the foundation. There are no interstices through which dirt can ac- 
cumulate by being forced through the pavement. It is so constructed 
as to form a perfect arch from one side of the street to the other, and 
the joints between the blocks are never longitudinal with the street, 
but either crosswise or oblique. It is easily taken up and relaid with- 
out injury. It can be swept and cleaned with facility. Experience 
demonstrates beyond a question that iron must be adopted for the 
pavement of the principal thoroughfares of our large cities, and that 
no other material will fully answer the purpose. Where granite can 
readily be obtained the cost of iron is no greater than that of the Russ 
pavement. When it becomes necessary to transport the stone for con- 
siderable distances the iron can be laid much cheaper, and when worn 
out the material left is worth one-third the original cost. 

The weight of iron required is from 200 to 300 pounds per square 
superficial yard, dependent upon the traffic to which it is to be sub- 
jected and upon the width of the street. For a street the width of 
Pennsylvania avenue and to suit its traffic, two hundred and fifty 
pounds weight would probably be sufficient. The cost of this would 
be about seven dollars and fifty cents ($7 50) per square yard. The 
minimum weight would be ($6 50) six dollars and fifty cents. 

In regard to the question of railways as a means of transport for 
passengers through the streets of cities, it must be admitted, there is 
a great diversity of opinion ; but it is believed that objections are 
made only by those who are not familiar with their working, or against 
some particular detail of their construction. The railway, as a prin- 
ciple, has every argument in its favor ; and if any valid objections 
can be made against them, as they are constructed, it is against such 
features as can be readily modified. The Harlem railway, in New 
York, was the first used for the local business of the city, in the carry- 
ing of passengers in small horse cars. It was not originally con- 
structed for this purpose, and was laid with a rail of the ordinary 
pattern in use upon ordinary railways, and with a gauge of four feet 
eight and a half inches. The form of rail did not admit of a smooth 
surface or perfect connexion with the pavement, ofi'ering serious ob- 
struction to the passage of ordinary vehicles. When subsequently it 
was proposed to lay railways through the Sixth and Eighth avenues, 
this objection was most seriously urged. To avoid the difficulty, a 
rail of a groove pattern was adopted. This admitted a pavement 
laid close against both sides of the rail and even with its top, and 



10 IRON PAVEMEIST, ETC. 

removed, to a considerable extent, one very important objection. 
The groove is made shallow, wide and flaring, so that the wlieels of 
an ordinary vehicle will readily enter or leave it. To make the sur- 
face more perfect, square blocks were laid on each side of the rails, 
while the remainder was laid with the ordinary cobble stone. Suc- 
cessive improvements in the method of paving, and in the form of 
rail have been made until railways have, in that city, become an in- 
dispensable convenience. They have been adopted in Boston, Brooklyn 
and Philadelphia, and the construction of new lines is in progress. 
It is not, however, to be said that they have been perfected, or that 
all the objections to them have ceased, although in the city of New 
York, as the longitudinal avenues are extended, the rule which once 
prevailed has been reversed, and the extension of the railways is 
demanded by the people, instead of being asked for by the railway 
companies. There are those who are ready to concede their utility to 
the fullest extent, and yet who object to them on the ground that 
they still offer obstruction to other travel, in consequence of the faults 
of their construction, and the width of track, as well as the cumber- 
someness of the carriages. The grooved rails are laid upon longi- 
tudinal wooden sills, which in their turn lay upon wooden cross-ties. 
This Avooden structure is filled up with gravel in which the pavement 
is laid. The pavement and railway are therefore two independent 
structures, neither dependent upon the other. In some cases the rails 
settle below the paving, and in others the paving below the rails. 
The greater the difference of level between the two, the greater is the 
obstruction to ordinary travel. If both could be kept upon the same 
level this objection would cease. 

Another difficulty is, that the perishable nature of the sills renders 
a renewal necessary every few years, and a constant repair is going on. 

The adoption of the proposed railway in Pennsylvania avenue, and 
the connexion with the iron pavement, will make available all the 
advantages to be derived from their use without the difficulties last re- 
ferred to. 

By the same process of keying, as adopted between the blocks and 
between the blocks and gutters, the rails are held in place in the pave- 
ment. The rails are kept upon the same level as the pavement and 
are a part of the same structure. They merely form four parallel 
grooves in a cast iron paving, serving to guide the carriages and keep 
them in given lines in the street. No perishable wooden material is 
required, and the obstruction and defacement of the street consequent 
upon constant repairs is avoided. 

The width of gauge adopted upon existing street railways seems to 
be entirely an accidental feature, the other roads in New York adopt- 
ing the same gauge as the Harlem road, which was constructed 
originally without reference to being used as a street railway. In 
other cities the same gauge has been adopted without any better reason. 

There is certainly no good reason why a railway for street purposes, 
to be used with horse power and with small light cars, and at a speed not 
exceeding five or six miles to the hour, should require a width of 
gauge such as is sufficient for bearing locomotives and trains at a speed 
of thirty or forty miles per hour. 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 11 

The ordinary street cars in use are 7 to 1h feet in width, and might 
with advantage be reduced to six. Our large passenger cars drawn 
by locomotives are 9 to 9^ feet. The same proportion between the 
width of car and width of track would give from 3 to 3^ feet as suffi- 
cient for a street railway, without making allowance for the difference 
of speed. 

The objection to the wide gauge and the wide car does not apply 
with the same force in Pennsylvania avenue as in some of the narrower 
streets in New York, Boston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia, through 
which railways are laid. But there are other considerations in favor 
of the narrow track and narrow car, which apply equally everywhere. 
The wndth proposed for this avenue is three feet six inches to four 
feet for the track, and five and a half to six feet for the cars. Their 
height from the pavement will be about twenty-two inches. They are, 
in fact, similar to an omnibus body, elongated and resting upon car- 
wheels, but much lower. Their capacity is for twenty passengers, 
and they are designed to be drawn by one horse only. These carriages 
are ornamental in form and design, and will not occupy more than 
thirteen feet of the width of the street, from out to out of carriages on 
a double track. No conductor is required, the driver performing the 
same duties as the omnibus driver. Passengers need not be annoyed 
by persons standing in their front, or by the constant passing of a 
conductor through a crowded passage way. In the use of one horse 
only, which is permitted by the lightness of the carriages, the travel 
is in the centre, between the two tracks, where a perfect foothold is 
obtained. 

A more prompt, speedy, and comfortable transit of passengers is 
insured, because of the small number that it is proposed to carry in 
each carriage. Their stops wnll be fewer than the large car ; they can 
stop and start more readily. To do a given amount of traffic the car- 
riages must be run at more frequent intervals ; thus accommodating 
the public better. The transit will be more regular and rapid, and 
their convenience in every way enhanced to the public over any here- 
tofore used. The whole amount in the street will not be dissimilar to 
that of only two lines of omnibuses, but far more safe and convenient 
because less elevated from the pavement, occupying less width, having 
no axles, wheels, and hubs projecting beyond the body of the carriage, 
and confined to straight lines in the centre of the street instead of 
being scattered over its entire width. 

While admitting the plausibility of some of the arguments against 
railways in thronged thoroughfares, on account of a few defects in 
their construction and of the space the ordinary carriages occupy, 
and the consequent interruption to other vehicles, there can be no 
question but that the railway affords the most comfortable and the 
most convenient and economical means of transport for passengers 
from one point of a city to another. Eemedy the few defects in 
the tracks referred to, and divest the railway carriage of its cumber- 
someness, and these objections cease. The same number of passengers 
may be carried by railway with half the number of carriages and 
one-quarter the number of horses that w^ould be required with omni- 
buses. The pavements are relieved from immense wear and tear. 



12 IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 

Tbe noise and dust is avoided. The incjress and egress is easier and 
more convenient. They are safer to ])edestrians, because the route of 
the car is fixed and well known ; and, finally, the rates of fare less 
than in omnibuses. 

It cannot be believed that conveniences of public transport of such a 
nature, and so divested of all the remaining objectionable features 
which it is alleged pertain to them in cities Avhere they ftre used, can 
be otherwise than beneficial to the interests of tbe city, and to the 
value of property along their route. 

It is a significant fact that in the city of New York, where railways 
are used with all the faults in their construction wliich their oppo- 
nents set forth against them, property in the longitudinal avenues 
through which they run has, since their construction, increased in 
value 50 per cent., while in similar and parallel avenues whicli have 
no railways it has not increased 10 per cent. In Brooklyn the rail- 
way system has developed and brought into use properly to the extent 
often times the whole cost of the roads, which for years yet, without 
such facilities, would have been unimproved and valueless. Extracts 
from the testimony of men of respectability, who have had peculiar 
opportunities of witnessing the operation of these railways and their 
effects upon the value of property, are appended. This testimony was 
taken by commissioners to be used in a case between the city of Louis- 
ville and the Louisville and Portland Railway, but it is none the less 
pertinent. 

First is that of Edwin Smith, who has been for the last twenty-five 
years a city surveyor and civil engineer in the city of New York. He 
says : 

" These railways are preferable to any existing method for the 
transportation of passengers through the streets of cities, for various 
reasons, viz : a great saving is made in the wear and tear of pave- 
ments, and in the wear and tear of vehicles. The cars are safer to 
pedestrians and ordinary vehicles, as they can be stopped quicker than 
omnibuses. They are less noisy than vehicles upon the pavements. 
They create less dust. A given number of passengers require less 
than half the number of vehicles that would be required in transporta- 
tion by omnibuses, and a correspondingly less number of horses. 
They are easier of ingress and egress than omnibuses ; they are more 
comfortable, in every respect, to passengers. Passengers can be 
transported at less rates. Being confined to a straight line they offer 
less obstr uction to other travel than omnibuses, and serve to systematize 
and regulate it. Few of the streets in New York city through which 
railways pass are as wide as the width assumed in this interrogatory 
for Main street, in Louisville. The avenues in the upper part of the 
city are about this width, viz : sixty feet between the curb stones, but, 
with the exception of Canal street and a part of the Bowery, the 
streets in the lower part of the city are much narrower ; Oliver street, 
throngli which a railway 2)asse8, is but twenty-one feet between curbs. 

" New York, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, and, I think, New 
Orleans, have railroads in their streets. 

" I know nothing about the business of Main street, in Louisville, 
and, therefore, cannot make a comparison. The travel in many of 
the streets in New York through which railways pass is very great. 



IRON PAVEMENT. ETC. 13 

Some of them are main thoroughfares. Fulton street, in Brooklyn, 
is the principal street. The system of railways in that city all con- 
verges into this street, and all the cars from the various lines run 
through it to the ferry at its foot. The track in South street, New 
York, runs directly along the wharves of East river, where an immense 
shipping business is transacted, and where heavy draying is required. 
The cars upon the roads mentioned are propelled by horse power, and 
the roads are esteemed of great i)ublic utility. I cannot say how they 
affect the business of the streets through which they pass in Boston, 
New Orleans, and Philadelphia. In Brooklyn, Fulton street remains 
the princii)al street, as it was before railways were laid in it. I do 
not know that its business is injured by the railway, on the contrary, 
the railway gives importance to the street and value to the property, 
and tends to retain for it the character of the principal street of the 
city. In New York the property has been greatly enhanced in value 
upon the streets where railways have been constructed. The effect 
upon the property may be judged by the effect in the avenues in the 
upper part of the city. The avenues in which railways have not been 
constructed, viz : A, B, 0, and D, and Seventh avenue, are streets in 
which but little business is done, while Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, 
Eighth, &c., have a large amount of business, and are business 
thoroughfares. 

" With the exception of Fifth avenue, which has importance as a 
street conventionally retained for splendid residences, the property 
upon the avenues having no railways, is less valuable than that in 
which railways are laid. 

"In the lower part of the city the most extensive and costly stores 
for wholesale and jobbing jiurposes are being constructed upon streets 
in which railways are laid, or in their immediate vicinity. That por- 
tion of the city upon and in the immediate vicinity of the lower 
terminus of the Sixth and Eighth avenue railroads, is now undergoing 
greater improvements in rebuilding, for heavy commercial purposes, 
than any other. As compared with omnibuses, the elements of con- 
venience, not only to the passenger, but to the other travel of the 
streets, is decidedly in favor of the cars, even with their present width 
of 7 to 7^ feet. They occupy less space than omnibuses, as the latter 
have their wheels projecting from and outside of the body of the car- 
riage, occupying 8^ to 9 feet, while the former have their wheels inside 
of the body. Cars for street purposes, if deemed expedient, might be 
made narrower than those at present used ; and if the bodies were 
made of the same width as omnibus bodies, viz : 5 feet 3 inches, 
they would occupy but 12 feet fi om outside to outside, on a double 
line, allowing for a space of one and one and a half feet between 
them. With the same space between any two omnibuses, they would 
occupy about 17^ feet. 

" Property is rated higher, and is more valuable as a general thing, 
upon streets upon which railways are laid, than upon similar and 
parallel streets through which railways have not been laid. For 
instance, in Sixth and Eighth avenues, since the railroads have been 
laid, the property along the lines and on the crossing streets has more 
than doubled in value. 



14 IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 

Second, is that of Daniel Dodge, formerly alderman of the city of 
New York. He says : 

" I concur fully in all the answers to these interrogatories given by 
Edwin Smith, civil engineer and surveyor. 

" I desire to add to the answer to the 9th interogatory as follows, 
viz : Chatham street, which is about 33 feet wide between the curb 
stones, is the great thoroughfare for the eastern half of the city ; the 
travel from all the main streets on that section, viz : Bowery, East 
Broadway, Division street, and others, converging into it at Chat- 
ham square in its course to Broadway. The cars of the 1st, 2d, and 
3d avenue roads, pass through Chatham street. The tracks were 
laid in 185 , and the project met with the most strenuous opposition, 
on the ground that the street was so narrow as to render it im- 
possible for the cars to pass, without interfering with and obstruct- 
ing all other travel, thus ruining the business of the street, and 
depreciating the value of real estate. The result has proved the en- 
tire reverse of these anticipations, and the railways have been of 
great advantage to the street, increasing its business and enhancing 
the value of its property. It still remains the great tunnel for all the 
travel of the eastern side of the city, and it is freely admitted that the 
cars do not inconvenience the other travel so much as omnibuses. 
The result of the experiment in this, conclusively demonstrates that 
railways may be laid and cars run in streets of thirty-three (33) 
feet width, without embarrassing the miscellaneous travel, or in- 
juring the property or business of such streets^ but, on the contrary, 
proving positively beneficial to both. One principal reason is, the regu- 
lation given to the other travel, by the cars being confined to certain 
lines in the middle of the street. The miscellaneous travel naturally 
divides on either side as the cars pass, and no clashing or collision 
occurs, because the course of the cars is fixed and well known. The 
travel is lacilitated by this natural regulation, and the liability to ob- 
struction of the streets, by a 'jam ' of vehicles, greatly lessened. It 
is upon this demonstration, fully examined, inquired into, and ad- 
mitted, that the authorities of Brooklyn relied, in adopting the sys- 
tem of railways now in operation in that city. I was a member of 
the board of aldermen of the city of New York in the years 1850 and 
18i)l, when the discussion upon these various railroad projects came 
up, and thus have had my attention drawn particularly to the subject 
ot the requirements of a large city in the means of the transportation 
of passengers through its streets, I was also a member of several 
committees of the common council having this subject under consid- 
eration, and heard nearly all the arguments and testimony presented 
for and against these roads previous to their adoption. They were 
opposed before the committee, in the most strenuous manner, by some 
of the most influential citizens of the city, and by influential property 
owners in the street through which they were destined to pass. Since 
the construction of the roads the most bitter of these opponents have 
admitted their utility, and that their property has been enhanced in 
value by the roads, instead of being depreciated ; and my whole in- 
vestigation of the subject at that time, as well as my observation and 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 15 

knowledge of tlie result, lias satisfied me that the street railway and 
car present advantages far beyond any existing method for the trans- 
portation of passengers through the streets, and that their tendency 
is rather to equalize the value of property, not by depreciating that 
at the centre of business, but by enhancing that more remote/' 

Third, is that of Edmund Griffin, formerly alderman of the city of 
New York. He says: 

" I concur fully in all the answers to all these interrogatories made 
by Edwin Smith, civil engineer and surveyor. I desire to answer to 
the 9th interrogatory. 

" I was a member of the board of aldermen of the city of New 
York in the years 1850 and 1851. It was at this time that the project 
of the various city railroads, since constructed, was broached, and the 
discussions, pro and con, before the city government, drew my atten- 
tion to that subject. I have been familiar with these projects through 
their construction and operation, and am satisfied that in no other 
way could the requirements of a large city, in the means of the trans- 
portation of passengers, be fulfilled with so little inconvenience to other 
travel, or with so little hazard of injury to private interests. The 
operation of the railway on Chatham street has been considered a test, 
in regard to the question of inconvenience to other travel and damage 
to business and property, as that street is a great thoroughfare for the 
eastern portion of the city, and is but 33 ieet wide between curbs. 
The operation of that road has been a conclusive demonstration that 
street railways are not only of great public utility, but that they do 
not inconvenience and obstruct the other travel and business of the 
street to any extent, comparable with omnibuses, and that their influ- 
ence upon the value of property along their line is beneficial. The 
operation of the New York street railways was thoroughly examined 
by the authorities of Brooklyn city, before the adoption of the system 
which has been constructed in the latter city. When the system was 
first proposed the entire city government, with but two or three ex- 
ceptions, were totally opposed to its construction ; but, after a year's 
examination of the New York city roads, the government of Brooklyn 
adopted an entire system radiating in various directions through the 
city. 

" Their effect on that city has been to largely enhance the value of 
propert}', and they have become an indispensable convenience." 

Fourth, is that of James S. Libby, proprietor of Lovejoy's Hotel, in 
the city ol New York. He says : 

"I concur fully in the answers to all these interrogatories made by 
Edwin Smith, civil engineer and surveyor, and adopt them as my 
own, I desire to add in answer to 9th interrogatory, as follows : I 
was one of the original projectors and constructors of the Sixth 
avenue railroad, and president of the company. The project met 
with great opposition, as it was the first street railway designed 
exclusively for city uses. The Harlem Railroad Company had used 
small cars between the park and 27th street, but their road was 
constructed with the ordinary T rail, and was inconvenient to ordi- 
nary vehicles in crossing. The project was opposed on the ground 
of this inconvenience. It was ar^rued that it would interfere with 



16 IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 

and incommode the ordinary travel, and thus prove detrimental to 
the business of the streets through which it passed, and consequently 
depreciate the value of the property, Tlie adoption of grooved rail 
removed the one serious difficulty. The railway has proved a great 
public convenience — has enhanced the value of property along its 
entire line, and the arguments of the opposition have been shown to 
be entirely groundless. 

"The operation of the railread in Chatham street has been the 
most perfect refutation of all the arguments of the opposers of street 
railways, as tliat street is the thoroughfare for a large portion of the 
city, and is but thirty-three (33) feet wide. I consider it to be per- 
fectly demonstrated by the operation of the street railways of New 
York, as well as Brooklyn, that, properly constructed, they are a 
great public convenience, and that they enhance the property in their 
vicinity and along their line, and that the cars inconvenience ordinary 
tr ivel less than omnibuses. 

" I own valuable real estate facing directly on the line of the Third 
and Fourth avenue roads near their termini, opposite the Astor House, 
and consider its value greatly enhanced by the roads, notwithstanding 
the street, 'Park Kow' (being the connexion between Chatham street 
and Broadway,) is the thoroughfare for all the travel of the eastern 
portion of the city. 

" The property upon the Sixth avenue has advanced fifty per cent, 
in value since the railway was constructed, whilst that upon Seventh 
avenue, directly alongside and parallel with it, has not advanced ten 
l^er cent." 

Such is the effect of railways in cities, and such is the universal 
effect of all facilities of intercourse and transport, whether between 
separate cities or separate and distinct points within the same city. 

Tlie memorialists disclaim asking for any grants which can be con- 
sidered in any way as a monopoly. Usually, the grants in New York 
city for street railways have been for periods of fifty years, and have 
been without any compensation to the city. The railroad companies 
only undertake to keep their tracks in repair, and to clean them. 
The memorialists here ask the privilege of running, for a period of 
twenty-one years, convenient, ornamental, and comfortable carriages, 
for the conveyance of passengers through Pennsylvania avenue, con- 
fining themselves to straight lines in the centre of the street — subject- 
ing themselves to the ordinances of the city government in relation to 
the rate of fare and speed, in the same manner that all j)ublic vehicles 
are regulated and governed. 

They do not ask that other public vehicles should be driven off. 
They do not ask to run in every direction, wearing out the pavements, 
which are laid and maintained at the expense of the government, but 
they propose to lay down, at their own expense, the grooves upon 
which their carriages are to run, and for less privileges than are given 
to any line of omnibuses without compensation, but at a positive cost 
to the government in the maintenance of the streets, they propose to 
keep the whole pavement in the avenue in repair for the duration of 
the privilege ; and at any time, during that period, they propose that 
the city may take possession of their railway upon paying them the 



IRON PAVEMENT, ETC. 17 

value of the unexpired term, and purchasing the real and personal 
property pertaining thereto. 

There would seem to be nothing in the proposition of the memo- 
rialists which by any construction could be considered as aiming at or 
asking for a monopoly. If the grant gave them the privilege of car- 
rying passengers through Pennsylvania avenue to the exclusion of 
other public vehicles, and for a fixed period of time beyond the control 
of the government or city, then it might be considered a monopoly ; 
but this is not the case. They may be dispossessed at any time, upon 
the payment to them by the city of the value of the property they have 
created, part of which would be immovable, and all of which would 
be worthless to them for any other purposes. At the expiration of 
the twenty-one years they propose to convey to the city, free of charge, 
the railway in good order, the authorities merely paying them for the 
real and personal property which they may have acquired pertinent 
to the operation of the railway. 

The plan proposed seems to meet in all respects the requirements of 
a great and progressive city in carriage pavements and vehicles of 
public transport, and its adoption would, we believe, perfect the ori- 
ginal intention of the founders of the city, and make Pennsylvania 
avenue one of the finest streets in the world, and worthy of the capi- 
tal of the nation. 

While the result of the examination which the committee has given 
to the subject induces them to entertain a favorable opinion of the 
iron pavement, thus expressed, they are not prepared to recommend 
at this time the repaving of Pennsylvania avenue, and report adversely 
thereto ; still, as it may become necessary to pave anew said avenue or 
other streets, and especially in the vicinity of the Capitol, the com- 
mittee have given a careful attention to the whole subject, and would 
respectfully recommend that a single square of eight hundred square 
yards be laid with the new pavement and tramway for the purpose ot 
more thoroughly testing its utility, durability, and general advan- 
tages, and that an appropriation be made therefor. 

The committee, fully impressed with the importance and advantage 
of a railway through Pennsylvania avenue, for the reasons before 
stated, report the accompanying bill. 
H. Kep. Com. 356—2 



.35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ^ Report 
1st Session. \ ) No. 410. 



TURNPIKE ROADS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



May 24, 1858. 



Mr. GooDE, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, sub- 
mitted the following 

REPORT. 

The majority of the Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was 
referred a resolution of the House of Representatives, instructing them 
to inquire into the propriety and expediency of the United States pur- 
chasing out the toll-gates on the several turnpike roads leading through 
the District of Columbia to the seat of the national government, with 
a view to make them free, and to report by bill or otherwise, beg leave 
respectfully to report : 

That they have had the subject of said resolution under consideration, 
and are of opinion that it is inexpedient for Congress to purchase the 
said turnpike roads, and pray to be discharged from the further con- 
sideration of the subject, all which is respectfully submitted. 



Mr. Bowie, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, sub- 
mitted 

THE FOLLOWING VIEWS OF THE MINORITY. 

The undersigned^ a minority of the Committee on the District of 
Columbia, to whom was referred a resolution of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, instructing them to "inquire into the propriety and ex- 
pediency of the United States purchasing out the toll-gates on the 
several turnpike roads leading through the said District to the seat 
of the national government, with a view to make them free, and to 
report by bill or otherwise," have had the same under consideration, 
and beg leave, respectfully, to make the following report : 

For the last twenty-five years it seems to bave been the settled 
policy of Congress to remove and abate all obstructions and burdens 
on the free right of ingress and egress to and from the seat of govern- 



2 TURNPIKE ROADS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

ment. The people of Virginia and Maryland, in particular, as well 
as all others having business in Washington, were subjected to heavy 
and unreasonable taxation in their intercourse with the people of 
Washington. Four bridges, two across the Potomac river and two 
across the Eastern branch, were the private property of incorporated 
companies, and heavy tolls were exacted under their corporate powers 
from all passengers crossing the same. This state of unreasonable 
taxation on all visitors to the seat of government had existed for a 
long time, until, by frequent remonstrances from the people of Vir- 
ginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, Congress was induced 
to inaugurate a system of legislation leading to a mitigation of the 
evils complained of ; accordingly, on the 14th of July, 1832, Congress 
passed an " act providing for the purchase by the United States of the 
rights of the Washington Bridge Company, and for the erection of a 
public bridge on the site thereof." — (See Statutes at Large, vol. 4, 
pages 582 and 583.) By this act the sum of $30,000 was appropriated 
for the purchase of the rights of the company, and $60,000 for the 
erection of a new bridge. And thus it was that the Potomac Long 
Bridge was made a free bridge, and has so remained from that to the 
present time. This seems to have been the first act of Congress on the 
subject ; but it was soon followed by the act of March 2, 1833, by which 
Congress appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase by the Uni- 
ted States of the bridge near the Little Falls above Georgetown, and for 
constructing a free turnpike between Georgetown and Alexandria. — 
(See Statutes at Large, vol. 4, p. 646.) And on the 12th August, 
1848, the bridges across the Eastern branch, the one known as the 
*^' Navy Yard bridge," and the other as " Benning's bridge," were 
authorized by Congress to be purchased for the United States and 
made free, and the sum of thirty thousand dollars appropriated for 
that purpose. — (See Statutes at Large, vol. 9, p. 292.) By the oper- 
ation of this system of federal legislation the people of Virginia, the 
District of Columbia, and the lower portion of Maryland, and all others 
having to pass those bridges in their approach to the national capital, 
have been very justly and properly relieved of heavy and burdensome 
exactions in their business and other relations with the people of this 
city and the various branches and departments of the government. 
But while this portion of the people of Virginia, Maryland, and the 
District of Columbia have been thus peculiarly favored, there are 
other portions of the people of Maryland and the District of Colum- 
bia who have not received the same equal and exact justice at the 
hands of the federal government. It is well known that there are at 
this time three turnpike roads, the private property of incorporated 
companies, leading to the city of Washington through portions of 
Maryland and the District of Columbia, on which toll-gates are 
erected and kept, and heavy and burdensome tolls exacted from 
all who pass through them. These are, first, "the Columbia turn- 
pike road," extending from the eastern end of Maryland avenue to 
the District line, in the direction of Bladensburg ; second, the 
" Rockville and Washington turnpike road," leading from the city 
of Washington to Rockville, in Montgomery county, Maryland ; and 
the third, the "Washington turnpike road," leading from Washing- 



TURNPIKE ROADS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 3 

ton, via Georgetown, to Rockville. In pursuance of the authority- 
vested in the committee by the resolution of the House, they directed 
an inquiry to be made of the president and directors of the said sev- 
eral turnpike companies as to the terms on which they would be wil- 
ling severally to dispose of their corporate rights to the United States, 
with the view of making the said roads free, and the abolition of all 
tolls and charges thereon, and the committee have received their sev- 
eral answers, which the undersigned begs leave to file with this his 
report, and to make it a part of the same, numbered 1, 2, and 3. 

From these answers it will appear that the "Columbia Turnpike 
Road Company" will agree to sell to the government that portion of 
their road leading from the eastern end of Maryland avenue to the 
district line, in the direction of Bladensburg, (which is understood to 
be the terminus of their road in that direction,) for the sum of |12,000, 
" reserving the toll-house and lot tvhereon the gate-keeper has, at hisoiun 
expense, erected several out-houses," which will not be wanted or re- 
quired by the United States. ''The Rockville and Washington Turn- 
pike Road Company" agree to sell their entire interest in said road for 
the sum of $25,000, and the " Washington Turnpike Company" their 
entire interest for the sum of $20,000^ making, in the aggregate, for 
the three roads the sum of $57,000. These sums, it is said, do not 
approach anything like their original costs ; but still, at these valua- 
tions, the said roads are paying to their several stockholders a dividend 
of six per cent, on these estimated values. Under these circumstances, 
the committee cannot think that their actual value has been over esti- 
mated, as it would be unreasonable to expect them, or either of them, 
to take less for their respective roads than a sum which^ if invested, 
would bring them a sum equal to the net value of the present tolls ac- 
tually received by them. The committee, therefore, as the under- 
signed supposes, can make no objection whatever to the prices which 
they have severally fixed on their respective roads. 

In view of these facts, the only question which presents itself to the 
consideration of the committee is, whether it is proper or expedient 
for the United States to purchase from these companies their corporate 
rights in these turnpike roads with a view of abolishing the tolls and 
toll-gates thereon, and making the same free? On this question it 
seems to the undersigned the committee can have no doubt whatever. 
The just and equitable policy of the government on this subject has 
been too long, and well and often, settled to admit now of any 
departure whatever. If the people of Virginia, and of Maryland, 
and the District of Columbia, who formerly had to pay tolls on 
the Potomac and Eastern Branch bridges, have been relieved of 
those burdens by the government, by making the said bridges free 
and the abolition of all tolls thereon, why should not other portions 
of the people of Maryland and the District be relieved of similar bur- 
dens imposed on them by the incorporated turnpike companies this 
stc?e of the river ? They are a,\\ highways to the great metropolis of 
the Union, and the same measure of justice and equality should be 
extended to all alike in their intercourse with the federal heart of the 
nation. We must either retrace our steps, and repeal all the laws on 
the subject of the free bridges and reinstate them to what they once 



4 TURNPIKE EOADS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

were, or we must abolish the tolls on the turnpike roads this Bide o^ 
the river, by purchasing them from Iheir proprietors. The one or the 
other course must be adopted before the government can be justly 
shielded from the imputation of oppressive partiality. But aside from 
the equity and justice of such a policy, the undersigned is of opinion 
that a proper regard for the interest of the people of this District, and 
of this metropolis in particular, should have great weight in inducing 
Congress to adopt the course now recommended by tlie undersigned. 
It is well known that an extensive and valuable trade is carried on be- 
tween this city and Georgetown^ and the surrounding portions of the 
district and of Maryland, this side of the river. By far the greater 
part of the markets for these cities, it is believed, is supplied by these 
sections of the country ; and it cannot be doubted that a withdrawal 
of these restrictions and limitations on the trade will, in a great de- 
gree, increase the extent and value of that trade, and mutually pro- 
mote the interest of both parties to the same. 

In conclusion, the undersigned is of opinion, on a review of the 
whole subject, that the United States ought to purchase out the rights 
of the said several turnpike road companies, and that the said roads 
ought to be made free and all taxes and tolls thereon abolished. He 
therefore reports the following bill, as a substitute for the report of 
the majority, and recommends its passage by Congress. 

THOMAS F. BOWIE. 



A hill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to purchase for the United' 
States the right of the " Columbia Turnpike Road Company^" of the 
'■^ Rochville and Washington Turnpike Road Company^" and of the 
*' Washington Turnpike Road Company," in and to their several 
turnpike roads, and to make the same free roads. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress 
assembled, That the sum of fifty-seven thousand dollars, in the mode 
and manner hereinafter mentioned, be, and the same is hereby, appro- 
priated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, 
to be expended under the direction and control of the Secretary of the 
Interior in purchasing for the United States all the rights of the said 
several turnpike road companies hereinafter mentioned, and to make 
the same free roads — that is to say : 

First. The sum of twelve thousand dollars to enable the said Secre- 
tary of the Interior to purchase from the " Columbia Turnpike Road 
Company" all their rights in and to tliat part of their said turnpike 
road extending from the eastern end of Maryland avenue in the city 
of Washington to the District line, in the direction of Bladensburg, 
reserving the toll-house and lot, whereon several outbuildings are 
erected, which are not wanted by the United States ; and said turn- 
pike road, when so purchased, shall be, and hereby is made, a free 
road, and all tolls and charges whatever thereon shall be forever 
abolished. 

Second. The sum of twenty-five thousand dollars to enable the 



TURNPIKE ROADS IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 5 

Secretary of the Interior to purchase from the " Rockville and Wash- 
ington Turnpike Company" all their rights in and to the said turn- 
pike road, with the like reservation as to the toll-house and lot on 
which the same is erected ; which said turnpike road, when so pur- 
chased, shall be, and is hereby made, a free road, and all tolls and 
charges whatever thereon shall be forever abolished. 

Third. The sum of twenty thousand dollars to enable the Secretary 
of the Interior to purchase from the ''Washington Turnpike Eoad 
Company" all their rights in and to their said turnpike road within 
the said District, with the like reservation of the toll-house and lot 
on which the same is built ; which said road, when so purchased, shall 
be, and is hereby made, a free road, and all tolls and charges what- 
ever thereon shall be, and is hereby, abolished. 

Section 2. And he it further enacted, That as soon as the said turn- 
pike roads shall have been purchased and made free as aforesaid, the 
offices of toll keepers thereon shall be abolished, and the said roads, 
as far as the same may lie within the limits of the District of Colum- 
bia, shall be placed under the supervision of the levy court of Wash- 
ington county in the said District, to be kept in repair as all other 
ounty roads in said District are now required by law to be repaired. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session, i i No. 411. 



MICHAEL NASH. 

[To accompany Bill S. 26].] 



May 24, 1858. 



Mr. GooDE, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia^ to lohom luas referred tJie 
Senate bill 261, entitled '■•An act for the relief of Michael Nash, of the 
District of Cplumhia,^' have had the same under consideration, and 
report : 

The memorialist was appointed in 1840, as superintendent of 
convict shoemakers at the penitentiary of the District of Columbia, 
at a compensation of $550 per annum, and held the office for more 
than seven years at that rate of compensation, when, in 1849, he 
ceased to hold the office, and his successor has since received an in- 
crease of salary of one hundred dollars per annum, which the memo- 
rialist thinks should extend to himself also, and he asks that he may 
be allowed $650 a year from the date of his appointment to the close 
of the term when he held the place, which your committee deem un- 
reasonable, and recommend that the bill do not pass. 



35x11 Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
Ist Session. ) j No. 439. 



J. W. NYE. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 590.] 



May 29, 1858. 



Mr. Ward, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, made the 

following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom loas referred the 
memorial of llev. Mr. Hildt, the district attorney, the aldermen and 
members of the common council, and one hundred and thirty -eight citi- 
zens of Washington, praying that the claims of J. W. Nye against the 
government may he carefully examined, and that said Nye should he 
paid whatever might he found justly due to him as to one of the said 
claims, make the following report: 

That it is in evidence before your committee that on the 5th day of 
January, 1844, the postmaster of the House of Representatives entered 
into a contract with said Nye to furnish for the use of the House of 
Representatives for the 28th Congress three horses and three carry- 
alls, and to keep them in readiness for the service of the House when- 
ever wanted. Said horses and carryalls were not to be driven by said 
Nye, or any person under his control, but by persons employed by and 
under the control of the postmaster of the House. Said Nye was only 
to feed the horses, and keep them and the carryalls ready for the ser- 
vice of the House at all times. 

It is also in evidence that said postmaster entered into a contract 
with said Nye to haul all the boxes and other articles which were 
to be hauled for the use of the House for that Congress. 

The contract, after being executed by the postmaster and said Nye, 
was referred to the Committee on Accounts by the House for examina- 
tion^ and was unanimously approved by that committee as being con- 
formable to the law of the House, which authorized the postmaster to 
contract with some person to perform what he had contracted with 
said Nye to perform. 

Soon after Nye had entered upon the performance of his contract, 
the postmaster desired him to surrender that part of it relative to the 
hauling without remuneration, which Nye declined to do. At this 



2 J. W. NYE. 

refusal the postmaster seems to have become oiFended, as it is in evi- 
dence that he made threats that said Nye should make nothing by 
his contract, and it appears that he actually did employ other persons 
to do a large portion of the hauling, although informed by the Com- 
mittee on Accounts that he must not do so. It also appears that the 
drivers employed by Mr. Jolmson, the postmaster, with the exception 
of one by the name of Henry, commenced using the horses and carry- 
alls in a very abusive and destructive manner, by overloading the 
carryalls, driving the horses at their utmost speed, keeping them out 
late at night, the drivers returning intoxicated, leaving the horses 
and carryalls in the street unfastened and unattended to, so that one 
of the horses ran away, breaking the carryalls and harness, and all 
this notwithstanding the frequent remonstrances of Mr. Nye, both 
orally and in writing. 

The testimony of the assistant postmaster, under oath, shows that 
the postmaster declared that he would take the contract from Mr. 
Nye, if he had the power, and that if he could prevent it Nye should 
have nothing to do about the Capitol. 

Your committee do not find any testimony justifying this course of 
the postmaster towards Nye. It appears by the evidence of the as- 
sistant postmaster and Mr. Henry, one of the postmaster's messen- 
gers, that Nye always treated them with kindness, assisting them 
gratuitoutily in learning the business on which they had then com- 
menced, and never to their knowledge uttering a disrespectful word 
against the postmaster or any one about the Capitol. Mr. Nye him- 
self states, under oath, that he is not aware of any cause for the hos- 
tility thus manifested against him, except his (Nye's) refusal to give 
up the hauling. 

It is in evidence that three horses were so much injured that they 
died ; one was ruined ; one made blind, so as to be nearly worthless ; 
the greater part were injured, so as to be unfit for service for months, 
and others were hired in their places. Three sets of harness were de- 
stroyed or injured, and others very much impaired, and the carryalls 
repeatedly broken. 

Mr. Henry, one of the messengers who drove the horses, testified 
that had the horses been properly driven the work would not have 
injured them ; that he had one that Lad been in constant service for 
eight years, and was when he testified in as good condition as when 
first put to the work. 

Soon after the commencement of the 2d session of the 28th Con- 
gre'^s the postmaster notified Mr. Nye that his property would no 
longer be used in the service of the House. Nye at once remonstrated 
in writing, both to the postmaster and the Committee of Accounts, 
against this summary attempt to annul his contract, and notified 
them that he should hold his property, contracted to be furnished, 
always ready to perform its service, and that he should claim and ex- 
pect pay for his entire contract. Notwithstanding this, another per- 
son (John Lee) was employed, and Nye's property was kept idle, but 
ever readj; for the use of the House, had it been called for. 

Your committee have examined the testimony, which seems to have 



J. W. NYE. 3 

been carefully taken by former committees who have examined this 
case, and printed, and they find nothing therein to justify the post- 
master of the House in the course pursued by him. 

They find ample proof that Mr. Nye furnished property as good as 
could be procured in Washington, and better than had been usually 
furnished, for the same purpose, for the work which he contracted 
to perform. 

They find also that the course pursued by the postmaster was ruinous 
to Mr. Nye, that his property was sold at auction at a great sacrifice, 
after the time for which he had contracted to furnish it expired, and 
that he and his family actually suffered from want in consequence of 
the failure of the Postmaster of the House to comply with the contract. 

This claim was before the Judiciary Committee during the 30th 
Congress, who reported a resolution to pay Mr. Nye five hundred and 
twenty-five dollars in full of all claims. This Mr. Nye at the time 
refused to receive, it was manifestly so much short of the sum actually 
due to him, and to which he was justly entitled. 

Afterwards, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, and in con- 
sideration of the extreme destitution of his family, Mr. Nye consented 
to receive the small sum thus given. 

Your committee having weighed all the circumstances attending 
the contract and its violation by the postmaster, as shown by the 
evidence before them, have come to the conclusion that there is now 
due to J. W. Nye from the United States, alter deducting the five 
hundred and twenty-five dollars (|525) already received by him, the 
sum of $ , and they herewith report a bill for his relief for 

that sum. 

The committee accompany this report with the papers which have 
been submitted to them, and make them a part of this report. 



Memorial of Rev. George Hildt and eight other ministers of the gospel, 
the mayor, aldermen, president and members of the common council, 
the district attoi^ney, and one hundred and thirty-eight citizens of 
Washington, praying of Congress an examination and settlement of 
three several claims of John W. Nye against the United States. 



Junk 25, 1856. — Ordered to be printed. 



To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 

States : 

The undersigned, citizens of Washington and the District of Co- 
lumbia, most respectfully beg leave to present to the notice and favor- 
able consideration of your honorable bodies the claims of Mr. J. W. 



4 J W. NYE. 

Nye, a citizen of Washington, against the United States, a statement 
of which accompanies this memorial. One of these claims is for ser- 
vices rendered and moneys expended in 1832, for the use of the United 
States, in macadamizing Pennsylvania avenue in the city of Wash- 
ington ; and from the numerous times said claim has received the 
sanction of different committees of both Houses of Congress, and of 
the most eminent and honorable members of both Houses, all doubt 
as to its justice would seem to be excluded. 

The other two claims are, one for furnishing horses and carryalls for 
the use of the House of Representatives, and another for improving 
certain public grounds ; in both of which he has, according to the 
written statement accompanying this memorial, been deprived of his 
just rights by officers in the service of the government in their official 
capacity, by which he and his family have been reduced from circum- 
stances of affluence and comfort to the most extreme destitution and 
suffering. 

Most of the undersigned have been intimately acquainted with Mr. 
Nye for many years, and many of us have had business transactions 
w^ith him to a large amount, and we have always found him strictly 
honest and honorable in all his transactions with us, as far as his 
means have permitted. Mr. Nye has, during our acquaintance with 
him, been extremely hardworking and industrious; using every exer- 
tion in his power, when his health would permit, to provide for his 
family and keep them from suffering. 

The severe and long continued sufferings of himself and family, by 
sickness and the causes above stated, during the last twelve years, 
and the firm belief expressed by him that the only cause of the delay 
of Congress to settle his claims has been the interference and misrep- 
resentations of his enemies, we offer as our apology for thus memo- 
rializing your honorable bodies in his behalf. 

From our acquaintance with Mr. Nye we have no reason to believe 
that he would make any statement which he did not conscientiously 
believe to be true ; and if the statements contained in the accompany- 
ing papers be correct, we consider that the honor of the government 
requires the immediate settlement of his claims. And to this end we 
most earnestly request that your honorable bodies will adopt means 
to give to said claims a careful and scrutinizing examination, and that 
you will allow him the full amount which may be found justly due. 

In view of the very serious damages which Mr. Nye and his fiimily 
have sustained, and the severe and protracted sufferings to which they 
have been subjected, a liberal and generous settlement of his claims 
would be truly gratifying to a large majority of the citizens of Wash- 
ington acquainted with their circumstances. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

George Hildt F. S. Evans 

H. G. O'Neal Wra, B. Brashear 

John W. Wade Jonathan T. Walker 

John C. Harkness Charles E. Walker 

James N. Davis Franklin Little 



J. W. NYE. 



James Towles 
Peter Bergman 
John Ball 
Wm. Greer 
Wm. T. Evans 
John Cruit 
J. F. Polk 
P. Thyson 
A. B. Waller 

A. F. Kimmel 
Geo. S. Noyes 
C. L. Coltman 
Thos. E. Baden 
James Williams 
Septimus Tustin 
R. R. Gurley 
Joseph Harbaugh 
Richard G. Briscoe 

B. K. Morsell 
Joseph Clarke 
Isaac Clarke 
John Connelly 
Geo. Parker 
J. H. Goddard 
W. B. Magruder 
R. J. Powell 

L. Tree 

J. A. Kennedy 
T. T. Everett 
H. Richey 
Chauncey Smith 
W. J. C. Duhamel 
Thos. Miller 
F. M. Magruder 
John S. Cunningham 
James F. Divine 
Wm. Ferguson 
Wm. Ro^s 
Thomas G. Ford 
John Robb 
U. Ward 
John E. Evans 
A. Gray 

William Balantyne 
R. D. Spencer 
William Parker 

A. H. Lee 
F. Culver 
R. G. Hyatt 

B. H. Clements 
R. J. Clements 



John George Adams 
W. C. Johnson 
J. Raymond 
Peter F. Bacon 
John B. Ward 
George W. Hughes 
W. J. Redstrake 
H. H. McPherson, sen. 
E. Lazenby 
A. B. Gladraon 
Thomas Eckhardt 
William B. Jackson 
Charles Stott 
S. A. Peugh 
A. McU. Davis 
John T. Towers 
E. Finley Hunt 
Samuel Bacon 
John T. Clements 
S. H. Hill 
John H. Houston 
John L. Smith 
P. B. Key 

Francis A. Dickens, of Fair- 
fax county, Va., formerly 
of Washington 

W. A. Bradley 
John C. Smith 

John M. Young 

Thomas Connor 

J. McKnew 

G. W. Hinton 

James Fillings 

William C. Rollins 

Martin Buell 

John H. McCutchen 

B. F. Crosby 

Cornelius Boyle 

Rufus Prentis 

J. C. McKelden 

W. G. Deale 

T. J. Magruder 

F. A. Tucker 

James L. White 

J. Carter Gibson 

James T. Walker 

Richard Carter 

N. Snyder 

U. B. Ward 

William Drake 

L. M. Witherow 



J. W. NYE, 

S imuel Slireve Wm. Henry Upperman 

JohnShreve Robert Morrow 

Richard F. Trail Francis B. Lord 

Otho Gattrell John P. Pepper 

WiUiam Wallis Charles P. Russell 

H. S. Davis G, A. Schwarzman 

W. G. W. White W. B. SpignuU 

Leonard Storm Daniel Smith. (I know 

W. B. Wilson enough of Mr. Nye, his 

B. B. French claims, and circumstances, 

Thomas Scrivener to unite in recommending 

P. M. Pearson to Congress a scrutinizing 

John Scrivener examination of his claims) 

William C. Connor Jos. H. Bradley 

Alfred Shucking J. P. McKean 

W. E. Emery Wm. P. McConnell. 

J. P. Henshaw 



Testimony taken by the Committee of Accounts in 1845, and hy order of 
the Judiciary Committee in 1848, in regard to the manner in ivhich 
J. W. Nye performed his contract for furnishing horses and carryalls 
for the use of the House of Representatives, and hauling all the boxes 
and other articles for said House for the use of the 2Wi Congress; and 
also in regard to the destruction of said property by those in the service 
of the said House. 

Articles of agreement made and concluded this fifth day of January, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, be- 
tween John M. Johnson, Postmaster of the House of Representatives, 
of the first part, and John W. Nye, of the second part, witnesseth : 

That for and in consideration of the stipulations hereinafter men- 
tioned, the said party of the second part doth hereby covenant and 
agree, and by these presents doth bind himself, his heirs and assigns, 
unto the said party of the first part, or his successor in ofiice, to furnish 
for the use of the House of Representatives during the remainder of 
the 28th Congress,, three good horses and three good one-horse 
carriages, to be approved by the said party of the first part, and to 
keep them in good order for business at all times, subject to all orders 
and control of the said party of the first part ; to take charge of the 
stables and stable office belonging to the House of Representatives, 
and to keep them in good order ; also, to haul all the 'loxes and other 
articles which may be wanted by or for the House of Representatives; all 
of the above to be subject to the control of the said party of the first part. 

And the said party of the first part doth hereby covenant and agree 
to give the said party of the second part the charge and control of the 
stables and stable office belonging to the House of Representatives; also, 
the furnishing three horses and three one-horse carriages for the use 
of the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 28th Con- 



J, W. NYE. 7 

gress, and hauling all tbe boxes and other articles for the use of the 
House of Representatives for the remainder of the 28th Congress, and 
to pay unto the said party of the second part one dollar and seventy- 
cents per day for the use of each horse and carriage, or the same paid 
therefor during the 27th Congress ; also, the same prices for the boxes 
and other articles as were paid for the same during the last Congress. 
And for the faithful performance of the foregoing stipulations the said 
parties have hereunto set their hands and seals, this fifteenth day of 
January, 1844. JOHN M. JOHNSON, Postmaster . 

J. W. NYE. 
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of 
E. W. Smallwood. 

Testimony of Hon. General McDowell, 

Was chairman of the Committee of Accounts the 1st session of the 
28th Congress. The contract between Nye and Johnson for fur- 
nishing horses and carryalls, and doing the hauling for the House for 
the 28th Congress, was, by the House, referred to the Committee of 
Accounts for their examination and approval ; who, after a careful 
examination, unanimously approved the same, as conformable to the 
law authorizing the postmaster to contract with some person for this 
work. Never heard Mr. Johnson complain of any deficiency in the 
property whilst I acted as chairman, that I recollect of. 

J, J. McDowell. 

Mr. Hill sworn : 

Was assistant postmaster to the House of Representatives during 
the Ist session of the 28th Congress. Mr. Nye rendered essential 
service in the office during the first month. He and his son, also, 
assisted the messengers during the first month, in carrying the mail and 
learning the messengers their routes, Mr. Johnson and his messen- 
gers being entirely unacquainted with the business. His son con- 
tinued to assist whenever wanted during the session ; never heard any 
complaint from Mr. Johnson, or any of his messengers, of Mr. Nye, or 
any of the property, until Mr. Nye complained of the abusive and de- 
structive manner in which they were using the property. Mr. 
Nye frequently complained to Mr. Johnson of the abusive and de- 
structive manner in which his property was used, both verbally and 
in writing ; to any of which, as far as I had any knowledge, Mr. 
Johnson never paid the least attention ; always found Mr. Nye very 
kind and accommodating in rendering us any assistance, marking boxes, 
or anything we might want of him ; always found a horse and cart at 
the stables, and a person ready to drive whenever wanted to do the 
hauling ; never heard Mr. Nye use any disrespectful language to Mr. 
Johnson or any one in the office, or to any other person. Until the 
chairman of the Committee of Accounts called on Mr. Johnson and in- 
formed him that the hauling belonged to Mr. Nye^ and he must have 
it, Mr. Johnson preferred to let John Lee do it. Never heard Mr. 
Johnson object to Lee's doing it. 



8 J. W. NYE. 

Cross-examined. 

Some time in the summe, called on Mr. Nye to buy out his contract, 
believing he would lose it if he did not sell out ; confident Johnson 
would deprive him of it if he could ; heard Johnson say that he would 
take it from him if he could; that Nye should have nothing to do 
about the Capitol if he could prevent it; gave no reason why. Mr. Nye 
made great complaint of one William Sprigg ; that he had ruined a 
number of horses for him during the season. Sprigg was not in the 
employment of the House, but drove ofi" and on for the messengers 
during the session. Never knew of Mr. Nye receiving or asking any 
pay or compensation for his own or son's services. 

MICHAEL HILL. 

Mr. A. F. KiMMELTi sworn : 

Let Mr. Nye have three fine, splendid bay horses, for the use of the 
House of Representatives ; worth $300 in this market at that season 
of the year. After being worked before the carryalls some eight or 
ten days, they came back to the stables very much injured ; one was 
crippled, the other two very much galled, so as to be unfit for business. 
We then let Mr. Nye have a sorrel horse, called Fox, an excellent 
horse for business, and two gray Canadian ponies. These six horses 
were in high order, and excellent horses for business. Let Mr. Nye 
have two carryalls and two sets of harness. The carryalls were worth 
$100 each. One had been used some ; the other was entirely new ; 
they were as good as could be obtained in the city. The harness cost 
|25 each ; had been nsed some, but was good, substantial harness ; 
never galled our horses. After these horses had been very much 
injured we let Mr. Nye have two more during the session ; one a large, 
long-bodied, bay horse, worth from $75 to $80 ; the other, a fine, 
splendid gray horse, called Peacock, for $125. In addition to these 
eight horses, Mr. Nye had two other horses, which were used last ses- 
sion before the carryalls, which he bought of us the year before, sorrel 
horses, called John and Bill, good horses for business ; at the com- 
mencement of the session they were in good working order. The stock 
we let Mr. Nye have for this work was worth over $1,000. These 
horses, were driven in a very cruel manner. No horses of ours could 
stand it, the way they were driven. They were driven on the gallop, 
with a free use of the whip ; should not consider that either horses, 
carryalls, or harness could stand such driving any length of time; 
should consider horses liable, from half a day's driving, as he saw 
them driven, to be entirely ruined. To be driven a short distance, as 
they were driven, and then standing in the cold, should not wonder 
next morning to find them dead. IJave known Mr. Nye for a num- 
ber of years ; have had dealings with him to a large amount ; always 
found him honest and honorable as far as he had the means to do 
with ; never knew him guilty of a dishonorable act. Mr. Nye had a 
hoise, carryall, and harness, in good condition through the vacation 
ot Congress. Let Mr. Nye have bob-tailed bay horses and one large 
sorrel horse this session, to use before the carryalls ; in high order 
and good horses for business. A. F. KIMMELL. 



J. W. NYE. 



Mr. Walker sworn. 

Furnished Mr. Nye, in the month of January, in the year 1844, 
three bay horses for the use of the House of Representatives, and to 
carry the mails thereof through the city. The horses were good, 
sound, prime horses, worth $100 each at that season of the year. 
Some six or eight days after Mr. Nye got the horses one of them be- 
came lame, and the others were so injured that they became unfit for 
service. Mr. Nye got three other horses from us, (Walker & Kim- 
mell) — two Canadian ponies, gray, and one sorrel horse, called Fox. 
They were all good horses. The horse Fox was a first-rate horse for 
work, and the other two were exceeding tough, and competent to 
stand almost any kind of work. Two other horses Mr. Nye got from 
us the year preceding, called Bill and John, were exceeding good 
horses. John was of a very high life ; the other was a very good 
driving horse. Afterwards, Mr. Nye got from us another horse, called 
"Nick of the Woods" — a large bay horse, and an excellent good 
horse ; very tough. All the aforesaid horses were in excellent good 
order. We furnished Mr. Nye, for the aforesaid employment, two 
carryalls, and two sets of single harness, all of which was in first-rate 
order. One of the carryalls was new, and cost $100 ; the other had 
been used but a short time, and nearly as good as new. I considered 
them worth $100 each. The harness was nearly new. The way I 
frequently saw the horses and carryalls driven, it was impossible for 
either to stand such usage but a short time. I further state that 
horses driven as those were, for a day, or half a day, may be as com- 
pletely ruined as longer driving, or injured so that they will not be fit 
for use for a long time, if ever. I further state that I have known 
Mr. Nye for a number of years, and always have found him to be a 
man disposed to do what I consider to be right. I have had very con- 
siderable dealings with him, and have found him always correct in his 
transactions with me, and have never known him to be guilty of a 
dishonorable act. 

EDWIN WALKER. 

Mr. BowEN sworn. 

Furnished Mr. Nye his feed for his horses last session, after he ob- 
tained the contract for furnishing horses and carryalls for the use of 
the House. Received my pay punctually. At one time Mr. Nye let 
me have ten dollars in advance. Never warranted him. Have fre- 
quently seen William Sprigg drive those horses and carryalls ; have 
frequently seen him beat them unmercifully, both last session and this, 
and drive them on a full gallop, and run them under the whip all the 
way up Capitol hill. Have frequently seen small boys driving tliem ; 
frequently seen the one driven to Georgetown driven on a full jump, 
with a number of persons in the wagon. They were in the habit of 
beating the one on this route with a large stick, leaving large wales 
or welts on him. Saw the horses and carryalls every day ; saw noth- 
ing out of order with the carryalls or harness ; considered them ex- 
cellent, and abundantly sufficient for the business. The sorrel horses 



10 J. W. KYE. 

were in good working order ; the others were in higJi order. The 
ponies heave never heen poor since they have been in Washington. 
The horses for the use of the house were taken good care of, and fed 
as much as they could eat. 

JAMES A. BOWEN. 

Mr. Batson sworn. 

Lived with Mr. Nye during the fall and winter. The Saturday he- 
fore the meeting of Congress, the present session, Mr. Nye received a 
notice from Mr. Johnson to have three horses and carryalls at the 
Capitol early on Monday morning. Mr. Nye and myself immediately 
went to work to see that the carryalls and harness were in good order ; 
on two of the carayalls we put two coats of paint on the canvass of 
each ; and on Monday morning I helped take them to the Capitol. 
We took two Canadian ponies and a high-spirited sorrel horse (all 
three in high order) to the Capitol, and three carryalls, and liarness to 
each — all in good order for business. The carryalls were all three 
good, strong, substantial carryalls, and the harness in good order, and 
I consider them amply sufficient for the business. About three o'clock 
p. m., the sorrel horse was sent home, with the shafts broken. We 
immediately put another pair of shafts on, and sent back the carryall, 
and another large sorrel horse, in good order, and a good horse for 
business. He was continued on one week, and then a large bay horse 
was obtained from Walker & Kimraell, in high order, which was soon 
run down, and then a fine, splendid bay horse, called Charley, put on ; 
he WIS in high order; I have driven him before a carryall and buggy, 
and he worked kind and well ; I never saw a more fine, splendid 
horse in the District. The third day he was sent home, unfit for busi- 
ness ; his shoulders very mnch injured. Another bay, bob-tailed 
horse was then obtained from Walker & Kimmell ; he was as fine, 
excellent a horse as I ever saw, and was continued on until the pro- 
perty was dismissed ; he was used about two weeks. Mr. Nye being 
sick, I used to help Norman take care of them, and take them to the 
Capitol ; they were taken up in good season, and the carryalls and 
harness ahvays in good order when taken there in the morning. The 
horse used by Mr. Henry used to look as well when he came in at 
night as when he went out in the morning ; the other two used to come 
in wet as they could be, and appeared to have been severely driven, un- 
til Sprigg was dismissed, and Sweeny took his place ; after that, this 
one did not appear to be treated so bad. The one driven by Laphen 
ahvays came in as wet as he could be, and very much fatigued. Ona 
carryall got an axle-tree broken; another carriage was immediately 
put in its place, and I put in a new axle-tree in a very sliort time ; I 
also made four pair of new shafts for the carryalls, to keep in readiness, 
should any more be broken. The inside of one carryall appeared 
damp after being out in a heavy rain ; we immediately put on a heavy 
coat of paint, and I believe it has been ])erfectly dry ever since; the 
other two I believe were perfectly dry. The curtains of all three were 
whole and good ; they were in good order during the recess, and dur- 
ing the present session. When the committee examined this property 
shortly after it was dismissed, they were all — horses, carryalls, and 



J. W. NYE. 11 

harness — in the same condition they were in when they were dismissed. 
After the property was dismissed, Mr. Nye refused to use it himself, 
or let any one else, except for the service of the House ; he kept them 
expressly for the service of the House, having them harnessed and 
sent to the Capitol mornings, the same as before they were dismissed. 

Cross-examined. 

The horses were cleaned and rubbed down, and their legs rubbed 
down, every night ; they were taken the best care of; they were fed 
as much as they could eat ; their customary food was half a bushel of 
corn meal mixed with cut hay — a meal for three horses — with as much 
other hay as they would eat ; or from twelve to fifteen large ears of corn 
each to a meal, with a plenty of hay. The harness was always hung 
up at night, and taken good care of. Have been working for Mr. Nye 
at the wheelwright business. He does not owe me much, if any. I 
should not consider the injury to the horses' shoulders caused by the 
fault of the harness, but by the bad driving. 

JOHN W. BATSON. 

Andrew Eock sworn. 

Commenced taking care of the horses doing the work at the Capitol 
the fore part of January, 1844 ; there were three carryalls, a cart, and 
four horses, kept constantly for the use of the House. The horses, 
with the exception of the one driven by Mr. Henry, were driven in a 
very abusive manner. They were in the habit of getting a number 
into the carryall, one take the lines, another a whip or cudgel, and 
beat the horse unmercifully, and drive him at his utmost speed. This 
horse was a high spirited, high life horse — a sorrel horse, called 
John, bought of Walker & Kimmel. The first day, in consequence 
of the beating, he ran away with Mr. Kendall, and broke the carryall ; 
he was in fine order. The horses and carryalls used to come in very 
late at night ; very frequently after 12 o'clock at night. William 
Sprigg drove a considerable share of the time during the session ; he 
used to come in frequently, after 12 o'clock at night, very much in- 
toxicated ; so drunk that he had to be carried home. The horses used 
to be very much fatigued ; appeared to be very hard driven ; we had 
frequently to change horses on the back route ; no one could stand it 
but a short time ; some six or seven were used on that route during 
the session, all excellent horses. There was a horse and cart kept 
expressly to do the hauling, and a person ready to do the same ; that 
they always did it immediately when called on by Mr. Johnson, or 
any of his messengers, or by members of Congress. 

Gross-examined. 

A large bay horse Mr. Nye bought of the railroad company was 
blind with one eye, and, when driven hard, could not see much with 
either eye ; not used on this work, except occasionally, to rest the 
others. A large, splendid gray horse, called Peacock, bought of 



12 J. W. NYE. 

Walker & Kimmell, had two good eyes; could see well. He died 
during the session. Two sets of the harness were right good ; the 
other not quite so good, but a very good harness ; with fair usage 
would have been amply sufficient for the business. Used to hang the 
liarness up every night, and take good care of it. Never heard any 
complaint of any carryall except the one on the back route — the 
Nay lor carryall ; it was new at the commencement of the session ; 
considered it a good carryall ; one had been used a little, the other 
was bran new. The horses were cleaned and well rubbed down every 
night, were well bedded^ and taken the best care of, and fed as much 
as they could eat at all times. A horse and cart and a person were at 
all times ready to do the hauling. I never received a letter or note 
from Mr. Johnson, by the hand of Mr. Kendall, to give to Mr. Nye. 

ANDREW ROCK. 

Norman W. Nye sworn. 

I assisted some time last session in carrying the mails ; horses first 
used, three fine bay horses ; in about a week two of them got their 
shoulders badly injured, so as to be unfit for business, and the other 
got lamed, so that we were not able to use him any more. Then got 
two Canadian })onies, and a sorrel horse, called Fox ; in a few days 
Fox got injured so as to be unfit for use, and the ponies very much 
galled ; the one driven on the back route used to be so tired he would 
lie down and refuse to eat when he came in at night. No horse on 
that route could stand it long before he would have to be taken off, 
and another put on. Six or seven horses were used before the carryall 
on that route during the session. The sorrel horse, called John, when 
first put on that route was in fine order and high life, and, from a free 
use of the whip, ran away with Mr. Kendall the first day he drove 
him, and broke both shafts of the carryall. A large, splendid horse, 
called Peacock, driven on that route, died some time during the ses- 
sion. Tliere was a horse and cart kept expressly for the service of the 
House, hauling boxes and other articles ; we kept a horse and cart all 
the time to do the hauling, and a person to attend to it, and did it 
immediately when called on. One time Mr. Smallwood informed me 
that the harness needed a little fixing, which was immediately done ; 
and I have no rec illection of ever hearing any complaint about any 
of the harness at any other time. Last session a number of times the 
horse on the back route, by being left standing late at night without 
being hitched, ran away and broke the carryall and harness. One 
time the horse and carryall were not found until the next day. When- 
ever a carryall was broken, last session or this, another carriage was 
immediately put in its place, and that repaired as quick as possible. 
The horse and carryall used by Mr. Robinson last summer was the 
Naylor carryall, used on the back route, and was the only one I ever 
heard any com[)laint of last session or this, and the large sorrel lu)rse, 
called Bill, used the first week before the meeting of Congress this 
session, and a considerable time last session. The horse used hy Mr. 
Henry was not injured last session or this; the horses used by William 
Sprigg and Laphen this session used to be very wet when they came 



J. W. NYE. 13 

in from work, and appeared as though they had heen severely driven. 
The horses used this session were the two Canadian ponies, the large 
sorrel horse, Bill, and two bob-tailed bay horses, had of Walker & 
Kiramell, and a bay horse, called Charley. Whenever a horse was 
run down another was immediately put in its place, and as good as 
could be found in the city, until the others were fit for business ; three 
or four of them we were never able to use more. The bay complained 
of by Laphen and Johnson I have driven before a hack, a buggy, a 
carryall, and a cart, and always found him to work well and kind in 
the harness in every situation. The horses, carryalls, and harness, 
when examined in the Capitol yard a few days ago, were the same 
that were in the service of the House at the time of their dismission, 
and in the same condition as they were when they were dismissed. 
And I furthej- state, that I never heard any complaint from Laphen 
of any of the property, except the bay horse ; and that I never received 
any letter or note from Mr. Johnson, by the hands of Mr. Laphen, to 
give to my father. The sorrel horse, John, never got over his lame- 
ness, so as to be used again, until he died, the following year. After 
Mr, Johnson refused to let the aforesaid property perform the work 
according to the contract, they were expressly kept for the service of 
the House, without being used for any other purpose. In consequence 
of being deprived of the avails of his contract, and the severe and 
long continued sickness of his father and the family, the whole family 
have suffered seveiely for the want of decent or comfortable clothing, 
and for sufficient food to eat, and for fire to keep them warm. 

NORMAN W. NYE. 

Mr. George Mattinqly sworn. 

I bought for Nye last session, for ttie use of the House, a good, 
strong carryall, for one hundred dollars, and a good set of harness, 
both new at the commencement of the session. The bay horses and 
Canadians were excellent horses, worked well in harness, and were as 
good as any man need sit behind. The two sorrel horses (Bill and 
John) were good, serviceable horses, and in good condition at the 
commencement of the session. From what I saw of the horses and 
carryalls last session, I considered them badly treated. The bay horse, 
Charley worked well before a buggy. The horses and carryalls were 
in good condition at the commencement of this session. I consider 
the horses the best ever used for that work at the Capitol. I consider 
one of them worth more than all three of Lee's, now used. I con- 
sider the carryalls and harness amply sufficient for the business. I 
have no interest in the contract. 

GEORGE MATTINGLY. 

Mr. WiLLETT sworn. 

Walker & Kimmell let Nye have three bay horses for the use of 
the House ; fine, excellent horses, as good as any man ever rode after ; 
also, a span of Canadian ponies, very excellent horses, worth one 
hundred and fifty dollars ; also, a sorrel horse, called Fox, an excel- 



14 J. W. NYE. 

lent horse for business, and a large bay horse called Nick, and a 
splendid gray horse called Peacock. Mr. Nye had also two sorrel 
horses called Bill and John, good horses for business — the chestnut 
sorrel (John) a very spirited, high-life horse. The horses carrying 
the mail were driven in a very abusive manner — harder than I should 
think any horse, wagon, or harness could stand. In the fall, in the 
absence of Walker & Kimmell, I hired William Sprigg a very fine, 
beautiful mare, to ride to Bladensburg. When he returned he was 
very much intoxicated. He injured the mare so that she died soon 
after getting her home. 

Cross-examined. Peacock had good eyes ; could see well. 

V. WILLETT. 

Mr. Robinson sworn : 

As soon as Congress adjourned last summer, I hired a horse and 
carryall of Mr. Nye (one of those used at the Capitol) to go into the 
country ; was gone some six or eight weeks ; drove some eighty or a 
hundred miles ; never less than three grown persons in the carryall at 
a time ; I found it a good strong carryall ; was out in some heavy 
rains — did not leak ; the horse a large one, I believe a bay ; he was a 
good faithful horse. 

JOHN W. ROBINSON. 

Mr. Henry, sworn for Johnson : 

Commenced driving about the 11th or 12th of January ; took the 
place of Willian Sprigg ; Sprigg drove occasionally for Smallwood 
during the session. Was so flurried when I commenced, I paid no at- 
tention to the property ; could not say what condition it was in. The 
first horses I used were not the ponies ; the one was a bay, the other a 
sorrel or a brown ; frequently used two horses in a day on the George- 
town route — one in the forenoon, the other in the afternoon ; drove on 
that route but a short time, and then changed with Kendall. Mr. 
Nye was very kind in assisting in carrying their mail and learning 
them their routes. Once last session, in going to the post office with 
a heavy load, broke an axle ; used the latter part of the session to 
carry one hundred bushels of documents per day to the post office. 
Used to carry very heavy loads ; pressed tlie springs clear down ; some- 
times, from a jolt would throw him two feet high. This session my 
horse was more lively and in better order than at the last. I thought 
Smallwood's was not in quite as good order. My carryall was tight — 
did not leak. Harness and carryall not quite as good as they might 
have been, but I could get along with them very well. The traces 
fastened on the swingle-tree by slipping over the end of an iron ; would 
sometimes slip oif. When 1 informed Mr. Nye thereof, he immedi- 
ately put on a new swingle-tree, from which the traces did not slip off 
any more ; but the next night, by the nut coming off the bolt which 
holds the swingle-tree to tlie cross-bar, the swingle-tree came off and 
hit the horse's heels, and one of the hold-back straps being unbuckled, 
the horse ran away with me ; used frequently to find my hold-back 
straps unfastened when going out of the yard. 



J. W. NYE. 15 

Cross-examined. — Never complained to Mr. Nye. Mr. Nye had 
"been so kind to me I did not feel willing to complain. When I in- 
formed Mr. Nye of the trouble with the swingle-tree, he had another 
immediately made. Since Mr. Nye's property has heen dismissed, 
the messengers furnish the horses and carryalls themselves, at one 
dollar and fifty cents per day each, for which they pay Lee one dollar 
per day for each horse and carryall, Lee feeding and taking care of the 
horses himself. Each messenger receives fifty cents per day free from 
expense, as long as they keep Lee's horses to do the work. The horse 
of Lee's wl ich I now drive is lame. Never heard Mr. Nye use any 
disrespectful language to Mr Johnson, or any one in the office. Horse 
and carryall sent to my boarding house in good season in the morning ; 
frequently before I was up. 

Mr. Wailes, sworn for Johnson : 

Am no judge of the property. Last session heard a good deal of 
complaint about the horse driven by Kendall. He was a very fine 
looking horse. The first month last session Mr. Nye was very atten- 
tive. The latter part of the time did not see him much about the 
Capitol. 

Mr. Owner, sworn for Johnson : 

Last session horse and carryall very bad ; leaked so bad the body 
got full of water ; had to bore a hole through the bottom to let the 
water out ; no better this session. One axle-tree broke and a wheel 
came off this session. Considers the gray horse a dangerous horse. 

Mr. Laphen, sworn for Johnson : 

I commenced driving the week before the meeting of Congress this 
session. The first day Mr. Nye sent up a very spirited horse ; I was 
advised not to drive him ; broke both shafts in the yard. The next 
day sent up another horse ; I drove him one week ; he was a very 
miserable horse ; I bought four new cow-hides, and wore them up 
about him. Next day sent up a better horse ; worked him a few days. 
Then sent a long-tailed bay they called Charley ; he was good for 
nothing, would not go at all ; turned over the carryall. He then sent 
a bob-tailed bay, a very good horse. I was not accustomed to horses ; 
had never driven any before. Broke one axle; wheel came off five 
times by linch-pin coming out ; never drove but once without a linch- 
pin ; got one linch-pin made and paid for it myself. Carryall leaked 
all over. The other carryalls in the same condition as the one I drove. 
Frequently complained to Mr. Nye of the property. The ponies were 
in fine order, and worked well. 

Cross-examined. — Never said anything to Mr. Nye about the 
property, but complained to his son, which was the same thing. The 
horse of Lee's I now drive is lame. 

Mr. Sweeny, sworn for Johnson : 

Have been driving for Smallwood since Sprigg was dismissed. Prop- 
erty in bad condition ; ponies very slow and very poor. 
Cross-examined. — Never informed Mr. Nye. 



1*^ J. W KYE. 

Mr. Peck, sworn for Johnson : 

Have frequently noticed the messengers carrying the mail last ses- 
sion, driving Nye's horses and carryalls with the shafts dragging on 
the ground. The horses, carryalls, and harness, were all in a very- 
bad condition. During the recess of Congress, last season, I wanted 
to carry my wife and children to the country. Mr. Nye was owing 
me, and as he was rather slow in paying, I agreed with him for one 
of his horses and carryalls to go with, in order to get my pay that 
way. He sent one round, hut it looked so bad I was ashamed to ride 
in it ; I was too proud. I had rather lose the debt. The curtains 
were torn and tattered all to pieces. 

Mr. Kendall, sworn for Johnson : 

Commenced driving some time in January, last session. Carryall 
curtains needed painting. One time a hame-string broke ; another 
time a trace came off. One horse, a sorrell, slow and poor ; a large 
gray horse, nearly blind — did not consider him safe to drive. iSent 
Mr. Nye word that he must put on a better horse. The next day he 
put on a good horse, which continued to perform well to the close of 
session. [A letter shown complaining of property.] Gave Mr. Nye the 
letter of which this is a copy. Carryall was broken a number of times 
during the session. Once or twice could not find Mr. Nye when we 
wanted hauling done. 

Cross-examined. — Always found a horse and cart at the stables to do 
the hauling, and a person to drive, when I called there. Did wo^ give 
the above named letter to Nye ; carried it in my pocket two days ; but, 
not seeing him, gave it to Mr. Rock. One time, stopped a short time 
after having distributed the mail, and left the horse and carryall with- 
out hitching, and when I came out he was gone, and was not found 
until the next day ; carryall broken. Sometimes it was very late when 
I came in. 

Mr. C. Stewart affirmed, (for Johnson,) conscientious scruples 
against taking an oath : 

Horses thin ; did not consider the wagons good ; heard a good deal 
of complaint from messengers. From the numerous complaints^ I 
would have taken away the contract had I been in the place of John- 
son. Did not hear much complaint last year. Heard Nye say John- 
son could not take away the contract. 

The foregoing testimony was taken by the Committee on Accounts 
during the second session of the 28th Congress. The only question 
before that committoe was to ascertain whether Mr. Nye had iorfeited 
his contract by non-compliance with its stipulations, or whether it had 
been legally or justly taken from him ; consequently, no testimony 
was introduced to show the amounts due under the contract, or the 
amount of damage sustained by the gross abuse and destruction of 
the property by those in the service of the House, and under the con- 
trol of the postmaster of the House. 



J. W. NYE. 17 

Washington, January 18, 1857. 

Dear Sir : Will you have the goodness to answer the following ques- 
tions, according to the best of your recollections? 

1. Did you, as a member of the Committee of Accounts, in an in- 
vestigation before said committee between Nye and Johnson, concern- 
ing the manner in which Nye performed his part of the contract for 
furnishing horses and carryalls, and doing the hauling for the House 
of Representatives, take notes of the witnesses' testimony before said 
committee ? 

*3. Did you, as a member of said committee, in company with the 
other members of the committee, see and examine the property fur- 
nished by Nye, after it had been dismissed by Johnson? And, if so, 
what was the condition of the property ? Were not the horses, carry- 
alls, and harness good ones, in good order, and amply sufficient for 
the business ? 

4. Did not Mr. Johnson make a charge against Mr. Nye, that what 
caused the first difficulty between him and Mr. Nye was, that Nye 
purchased all his feed for his horses on a month's credit, promising to 
pay when the money was drawn from the Capitol ; that when it was 
drawn, Nye refused to pay them ; that they warranted him, and that 
he set them at defiance ? 

*6. Do you recollect that on the last day on which any testimony 
was taken before said committee, that Nye brought forward a gentle- 
man by the name of White to prove my character for honesty and 
integrity ; and that the committee refused to let him be sworn, as my 
character had nothing to do with the contract ? Also, at the close of 
Smallwood's testimony, I informed the committee that I should fetch 
forward respectable testimony to impeach Smallwood's testimony for 
truth and veracity? To which Johnson told the committee that they 
might strike out Smallwood's testimony altogether ? 

*8. Did not Nye protest to the committee against the admission of 
the testimony of Johnson's messengers, they having a direct interest in 
the result of the investigation and decision of said committee, which 
protest was overruled by the majority of said committee ? 

Your early answer to the above interrogatories will much oblige 
your most obedient, humble servant, 

J. W. NYE,. 

Hon. Mr. Rodney. 

Answers. 

In answer to the accompanying interrogatories from Mr. Nye, I have 
to say : 

To the 1st question. That I was a member of the Committee of Ac- 
counts in the 28th Congress, and upon the investigation of the matter 
submitted by Mr. Nye and Mr. Johnson I took down the testimony 
of several witnesses as a member of the committee. 



•The 2d, 5th, and 7th interrogatories and their answers are omitted, as wholly immate- 
rial to a correct understanding of this investigation, but may be found in House Doc. No. 
117, 2d session, 29th Congress. 

H. Rep. Com. 439 2 



18 J. W. NYE. 

To the 3c?. The committee went out to look at the stock used by Mr. 
Nye, and my recollection is that it was thought sufficiently good. 

To the ifh. I think Mr. Johnson did make the matter stated in this 
question as one of the charges against Mr. Nye. 

To the %tli. I think what is stated in this question is substantially 
correct. 

To the Sth. Nye did object to the messengers employed by Johnson 
as incompetent witnesses, and I think it was overruled. 

GEOPwGE B. RODNEY. 

Newcastle, Delaware, January 20, 1847. 

Philadelphia, January 19, 1847. 

Sir : In answer to your request for me to state my recollection of a 
conversation that took place in the capitol, during the second session 
of the 28th Congress, between John M. Johnson, postmaster to the 
House of Representatives, and myself, in regard to yourself, I hereby 
certify that I was called as a witness in a controversy between you and 
him, then pending before the Committee of Accounts. I was called 
on as a witness to prove your character for honesty and integrity; but 
the committee did not consent to have me sworn, as they said your 
character had nothing to do with the contract. I left the committee 
room in company with Mr. Johnson. In front of the door which 
leads to tlie Hall of the House of Representatives, Mr. Johnson and 
myself had a conversation in regard to yourself. Mr. Johnson in- 
formed me that the first that caused any hostility between himself and 
Nye was, that Nye purchased his feed for his horses on a month's 
credit, promising to pay when the money was drawn from the capitol ; 
that when it was drawn you refused to pay. They warranted you, and 
you set them at defiance. To which you (being present) replied that 
it was a LIE. At which Johnson, in a great passion, called for the 
watch to arrest you for the insult. I think t"here were a number of 
gentlemen within hearing at the time. 
Respectfully yours, 

W. G. W. WHITE. 

.Hr. Nye. 

Note. — Mr. White was examined before the Judiciary Committee 
in 1848 in regard to the above certificate, which he stated to said com- 
mittee to be true and correct in each and every particular, in the pre- 
sence of Mr. Johnson, none of which was denied by him, except calling 
for the watch to arrest Nye, of which he said he had no recollection. 

The following testimony was taken by order of the Judiciary Com- 
mitteee in 1848, in order to ascertain the amount due under the con- 
tract, and the amount of loss sustained from the non-complifince with 
the contract on the part of the House, and by the abuse and destruc- 
tion of the property by those in the service of the House. 

District of Columhia, Washingtoji county, to ivit : 

On this Slst day of July, 1848, before me, the subscriber, a justice 
of the peace in and for said county, personally appeared Andrew 



J. W. NYE. 19 

Rock, who, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangely of Almighty 
God, deposeth and sayeth, that while he was in the service of Mr. 
Nye, in 1844, taking charge of the horses and property furnished 
by Mr. Nye for the use of the House of Representatives for the 
28th Congress, that after five or six horses had been run down before 
one carryall on the back or Georgetown route, Mr. Nye purchased a 
very tough, serviceable, large bay horse, called " Nick," and put him 
on that route, and he continued to perform well until within a few days 
of the close of the session, when he was run down so that he could «ot 
perform the service. I took him down to Mr. Nye, and informed him 
of his situation, and requested another. Mr. Nye said that he had 
none that he could put. on but Belle — a very large splendid bay mare, 
brought from New York, about 18 hands high, well made, and of great 
speed, said to be a colt of the celebrated Eclipse of New York — which 
he valued at three hundred dollars, but was not willing to part with 
at any price. He told me that J. must put her on the work ; and in two 
or three days she was run down, and had to be taken off, and another 
put on. At the close of the session I left the city of Washington and 
went to Virginia, where I resided some time. When I left the city 
Nick and Belle were both at Walker & Kimmell's stables, in care of 
a horse farrier by the name of Wallace, who was doctoring them. 
When I returned from Virginia I was informed that Belle was dead. 
When Mr. Nye obtained that contract he owned five horses, besides 
the seven he purchased for that work. Besides these seven horses 
purchased for that work, and the five Mr. Nye owned before he obtained 
that contract, he was compelled frequently to hire horses to put on 
that work, and he was compelled to stop running one of his hacks in 
order to put the horses on that work. Two of the bay horses that were 
first ".sed on that work, and were so injured that they were unfit for 
any service over a month, were after getting so that they could be 
used put before a hack, to let his hack horses spell his carryall horses, 
as they could stand it to work before a hack, when they could not 
before a carryall. At the time Mr. Nye obtain that contract he was 
doing a good business, and his family in comfortable circumstances. 
Since that contract was taken away, they have been in the most desti- 
tute circumstances, and I consider that they have been entirely ruined 
by the operation of that contract. 

Questions by Mr. Johnson : 

1. Did Mr. Nye owe you any money at the time the contract was 
taken from him ? Answer. Yes ; some forty or fifty dollars, but has 
since paid it. 

2. When the horses were employed by the House, was there a 
sufficiency of food for them ? Answer. Yes. 

3. What kind of business was Mr. Nye in when he obtained the 
contract, and was he in debt ? Answer. Driving a hack. As to his 
indebtedness I know nothing. 

4. Do you know anything more about the condition of the property 
employed under the contract than you did when you testified before the 
Committee of Accounts, 2d session 28th Congress? Answer. No. 

ANDREW ROCK. 



20 J. W. NYE. 

Sworn and subscribed to before the undersigned, on the day and | 
year first before written. i 

HENRY HOWJSON, J. P. j 

I 
Washington County, District of Columbia, to luit : , 

On this 3l8t day of July, 1848, before me, the subscriber, a justice \ 
of the peace in and for said county afbrexaid, persoually appeared ; 
Norman W. Nye, who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangely of 
Almighty God, deposeth and saith : That in 1846, as near as he can 
recollect^ that Horace Merryman, a constable of this city, having an ; 
execution against Mr. J. W. Nye for, as he was informed, about .|20, ' 
going to John F. Callan, levied on and took away every article of , 
furniture Mr. Nye and his family possessed in the world, except their I 
beds and some window curtains, leaving not a solitary article of any 
kind whatever, with the above exceptions, in their house Mr. Nye - 
and his whole family were at that time in very feeble health, having i 
been sick a long time. In regard to the injury of Nick and Belle, ; 
sworn to by Mr. Rock, I would state that they were doctored by Mr. | 
Wallace some two weeks, for which he understood his father paid $20. ] 
That Mr. Wallace advised his father to let them be out in the shade ! 
on the commons during the day, and put them up at night, which , 
they did for a few days, until one evening they could not be found, ' 
and when they did find them. Belle was dead. That his father took ''■ 
Belle from New York ; that she was a very large, noble animal, about ■ 
eighteen hands high, said to be a colt of the celebrated Eclipse of New 
York. That his father valued her at $300, but did not wish to sell 
her at any price. That Nick did not get over his injury, which was 
about the middle of June, so as to be fit for business again until i 
March following, being between eight and nine months they lost his ' 
services and keeping. That one of the bay horses bought of Walker i 
& Kimmell for $100, from the injury done him became entirely blind, i 
and was sold for less than $20. That the two bay horses had of 
Walker & Kimmell at $100 each, were so injured during the first ■ 
seven or eight days that they were unfit for any service about a month. : 
After that, they were used some before a hack, to let the hack horses | 
spell the carryall horses, as the horses, in the manner they were ! 
driven before the carryalls, could stand work before a hack when they , 
could not before a carryall. That the other bay horse had of Walker 
& Kimmell, at the commencement of the session, was so crippled that j 
they never used him again. Tliat in consequence of so many horses I 
being killed or injured during the work at the Capitol, they were ! 
obliged to stop one of their hacks entirely, to put the horses before the ; 
carryalls. That at the ensuing session the bay horse Charley was so . 
injured during the first week in December that they were not able to I 
use him any more until the next March. In addition to the seven | 
horses purchased for this work, and the ones Mr. Nye owned when he | 
obtained the contract, (five in numbf^r,) he was frequently obliged to ! 
hire others to rest those driven before the carryalls. Some few days after 
the adjournment of Congress, I heard Mr Johnson speak to my father 
about one of the messengers furnishing the horse and carryall during , 
the reces.8 of Congress, and asking my father for the key of the stable, 



J. W. NYE. 21 

which he refused to give up, telling Mr. Johnson that he had the con- 
tract for the whole Congress, and as long as a horse and carryall were 
wanted for that whole Congress that he should furnish it himself. 
When Mr. Nye obtained the contract, he was doing good business, 
and supporting his family comfortably ; but since the termination of 
the contract they have been in the most destitute and distressed cir- 
cumstances, having suffered for food to eat, fire to Keep them warm, 
and for decent clothing ; and when he obtained that bill of $91 last 
January, they had no means of procuring a meal of victuals that night, 
had they not have obtained that money that day, having already 
exhausted all their means ; and he considers that the ruin of his (Mr. 
Nye's) business and circumstances, and the distress and sufferings they 
have experienced, have arisen from the operations of that contract. 

Cross-examination. — Interrogatories by Mr. Johnson. 

1. Are you the son of J. W. Nye? Answer. Yes. 

2, What business was your father doing before he obtained the con- 
tract ? Answer, Driving a hack ; owned but one at the time but soon 
purchased another. He also owned ^^ye horses previous to the contract. 

8. Do you know that he was in debt? Answer. I do not know. 

4. Do you know any more about the contract of your father with 
the postmaster of the House than you did when you testified before 
the Committee of Accounts at the 2d session of the 28th Congress ? 
Answer. I do not. 

5. Did you hear that your father requested Mr. Johnson to dis- 
charge the horses and wagons as soon after the adjournment of the 1st 
session of the 28th Congress as convenient, as Mr. Mattingly was 
receiving the pay for them, and Mr. Nye was supporting them out of 
other means ? Answer. I did not. 

NORMAN W. NYE. 

Sworn and subscribed before the undersigned, the day and year first 
before written. 

HENRY HOWISON, J. P. 

31i\ Bacon sworn, July 31, 1848. 

On or about the meeting of Congress, J. W. Nye called on me, and 
stated that his family was in a destitute situation ; and also stated 
that he had two claims against the House of Representatives — one for 
hauling, the other for furnishing horses and carryalls. On the faith 
of Mr. Nye's representations, we let him have groceries to the amount 
of |25, which said Nye paid on receiving his claim of (as stated) |91. 
At the time said Nye paid the $25, he stated to deponent that he had 
received part of his claim, but had great confidence that Congress 
would do him justice, and that he would receive the residue of his 
claim before Congress adjourned. 

SAMUEL BACON. 

Sworn and subscribed before the undersigned, the day and year first 
before written. 

HENRY HOWISON, J. P. 



22 J, W NYE. 



Mr. White sioorn, July 31, 1848. 

Some time before the meeting of the present session of Congress, J. 
W. Nye called on me to obtain some assistance to procure food for his 
family, being at that time, from sickness, unable to labor, and desti- 
tute of any means of support. Nye presented me a bill of $91 he had 
against the House of Representatives for hauling done for the 28th 
Congress; also a large claim for horses and carryalls and other haul- 
ing done for the 28th Congress, and he apjieared confident that he 
should obtain it in a very short time after the meeting of Congress, 
pledging himself that if he could obtain from me on that, I should 
have it returned as soon as any could be obtained ; on the strength of 
which I let him have money from time to time. When Nye obtained 
that $91, he called on me and paid the money borrowed on the 
strength of that claim. Mr. Nye expressed great disappointment at 
not obtaining the balance, which he represented as very large; but he 
then expressed the fullest confidence that he would obtain it before the 
close of i\iQ present session. Jle said he felt hound to receive that $91 
then, and run the risk of obtaining the balance, for two reasons. 
One was in order to redeem the pledge to me and Mr. Bacon to return 
us the amount we had furnished out of th.Q first money that could be 
obtained on that claim. The other reason was, that he had expended 
all his resources, and had no means of obtaining a meal of victuals for 
his family that evening, if he did not receive that at that time. I 
have had considerable knowledge of Mr. Nye's circumstances for a 
number of years past. For four years past, from sickness of himself 
and family and other misfortunes, they have been almost wholly 
without any means of support. His health has been such that he has 
been able to labor but little. He has been remarkably industrious 
and hard-working when his health would permit, and he could find 
anything to do. Last year, during a number of months, having no 
other means of support, he carried ice about the city in a wheelbarrow 
until prevented by sickness, since which I believe that he and his 
family have been nearl > destitute of any means of support. 

Cross-examined hy Johnson. Have you any claim against Nye ? 

Answer. I have no claim on any part of this carryall contract, or 
any legal claim against Nye whatever. 

W. a. W. WHITE. 

Subscribed and sworn before the undersigned, on the day and year 
first above written. 

HENRY HOWISON, J. P. 

Extract from the Journal of the House of Representatives, requiring the 
postmaster of the House to contract loith some p)erson for the services 
of horses and mail carts wanted for the use of said House. 

" 6th. Resolved, That the doorkeeper be, and he is hereby, required 
to contract with some responsible person for the same number of horses 
and mail carts as are now authorized to be employed, on the best 



J. W. NYE, 23 

terms he may find practicable, the price in either case not to exceed 
that now given for the same services." 

The said sixth resolution was amended by striking out the word 
doorkeeper where it occurs, and inserting "postmaster;" and, as 
amended, it was agreed to. — {House Jour., Id session 2^th Con., p. 474.) 

Washington, July 28, 1848. 

In accordance with a request made to me by J. W. Nye, agreeably, 
as he informs me, to a direction of the Committee of the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives of the United States, I make the follow- 
ing statement: 

It appears from my official report made to the House of Representa- 
tives on the 7th of January, 1845, that horses and carryalls were em- 
ployed in the service of the House (exclusive of the clerk's office) as 
follows: By J. W. Nye, from January 5 to 31, 1844, 3 horses and 
carryalls 27 days each, 81 days ; also |5 10 for extra service during 
same month. J. W. Nye, in February, 1844, 3 horses and carryalls 

29 days each. J. W. Nye, in March, 1844, 3 horses and carryalls 31 
days each. J. W. Nye, in April, 1844, 3 horses and carryalls 30 
days each. J. W. Nye, in 3Jay, 1844, 3 horses and carryalls 31 days 
each. J. W. Nye, in June, 1844, 2 horses and carryalls from the 1st 
to the 25th, inclusive ; also, same month, 1 horse and carryall 30 days. 
John Lee, in June, 1844, 1 horse and carryall 5 days. E. W. Small- 
wood, in Jidy, 1844, 1 horse and carryall 31 days Mr. Hill, in 
August, 1844,^^1 horse and carryall 31 days. E. W. Smallwood, in 
September, 1844, 1 horse and carryall 30 days. Kendall, in October, 
1844, 1 horse and carryall 31 days. Smallwood, in November, 1844, 
1 horse and carryall from the 1st to the 24tli, inclusive, 24 days. J. 
W. Nye, in November, 1844, 3 horses and carryalls from the 25th to 
the 30th, both inclusive, 18 days. Henry, in December, 1844, 1 horse 
and carryall 7 days. Smallwood and Laphen, in same month, 1 horse 
and carryall each 7 days. 

B. B. FRENCH. 

It also appears from my official report made to the House of Repre- 
sentatives on December 3, 1845, that the following horses and car- 
ryalls wpre employed by the House (exclusive of the clerk's office) as 
follows, viz: By Henry, in January and February, 1845, 59 days. 
Smallwood and Laphen, during the same months, 59 days each. Small- 
wood, Laphen, and Henry, in March, 1845, 11 days each. Henry, in 
same month, 20 days. John Lee, in April, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 

30 days. John Lee, in May, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 31 days. 
John Lee, in June, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 30 days. John Lee, in 
July, 1845, 31 days. John Lee, in August, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 

31 days. John Lee, in September, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 30 days. 
John Lee, in October, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 31 days. John Lee, 
in November, 1845, 1 horse and carryall 30 days. John Lee, same 
month, 2 horses and carryalls 7 days each. 

It also appears from my report made to the House of Representatives 
in December, 1846, that the following horses and carryalls were em- 



24 J. W NYE. 

ployed in the service of the House (exclusive of the clerk's office) as 
follows' By John Lee, in March, 1845, 2 horses and carryalls 11 days 
each. John Lee, 1 horse and carryall from the first day of March to 
the first day of December, 1845, 275 days. 

B. B. FRENCH. 

It appears from my official reports made to the House of Representa- 
tives January 7, 1845, December 3, 1845, and December 7, 1846, that 
the following hauling was done for the House, and by whom: 

March 1, 1844, John Lee, $5 50; April 5, 1844, B. tt 0. R. 

R.. SOcts.; April 13, B. & 0. R. R., 50 cts $6 50 

May 6, 1844, B. c"t 0. R. R., 50 cts. ; April 24, 1844, J. F. 

Secor, 31 cts.; May 16, John Lee, $3 3 81 

May 1, 1844, J. F. Secor, 31 cts. ; February 16, 1844, Boteler 

& Donn, 50 cts ; May 23, schooner Frank, $1 1 81 

June 10, 1844, schooner Pha-be, $1 ; January 7, 1844, B. & 

0. R. R., 50 cts. ; April 11, B. Kinsley, 25 cts 1 75 

March 23, 1844, John Lee, |5 ; January 11, 1844, John 

Lee, $12 ; January 13, J. Lee, 50 cts 17 50 

January 14, 1844, John Lee, $3 ; January 12, 1844, Pen- 
field, $1 ; January 15, J. Lee, $1 50 5 50 

January 20, 1844, Secor, 62 cts. ; January 20, Secor, 31 cts. ; 

January 27, 1844, J. Lee, $17 50 18 43 

January 28, 1844, B. & 0. R. R., 50 cts ; July, 1844, John 

Lee, $7 50; July 6, 1844, B. it 0. R. R., $1 9 00 

July 9, 1844, B. & O. R. R., $1 50; July 31, J. Lee, 

$15 50 17 00 

B. B. FRENCH. 

1844. July 2, L. Thomas, $2 ; July 2, B. c^- 0. R. R., 50 

cts.: July 2, S. S. Osborn, $4 : July 2, S. Baker, $3.. 9 50 
August 5, W. Knapp, $2 ; August 5, Penfield, $2 ; 
August 5, S. Coster, $3 75; October 5, J. Lee, 

$25 50 33 25 

October 16, J. Pettibone, $92 07 ; November 30, J. 
Lee, $7 ; June 22, Boyd, 75 cts. ; December 11, 
Wheeler, 50 cts 100 32 

1845. January 31, J. Lee, $4 : January 24, B. & 0. R. R., 50 

cts.: irom February 7 to April 2, J. Lee, $66 50.... 71 00 
From April 13 to 25, J. Lee, $5 50 ; May 30, J. Lee, 

$8 50: Auoust30, J. Lee, $8 22 00 

August 30, B. c^' 0. R. R., $1 : October 27, R. Burch, 

37 cts.: April 25, J. Lee,$ll 50 12 87 

October 10, L. Thomas, $6; November 30, J. Lee, 

$14 50 ; October 5, S. Frank, 50 cts 21 00 

351 24 



J, W. NYE. 25 

Washington, July 29, 1849. 

It will be seen by tbe loregoing testimony of B. B. French, esq., 
that there has been hauling done to which 1 was entitled by the terms 
of my contract, and while I kept a man, horse, and carryall expressly 
to do said hauling, subjecting me to all the expense I would have 
been at had it been done by my team and the man in my employment, 
to the amount of three hundred an- 1 fifty -one dollars twenty-four cents, 
($351 24.) It will likewise be seen, by reference to the testimony of 
Esquire French, that there have been furnished for the use of the House, 
by Henry, Hill, Kendall, Smalhuood, Lee, and Laphen, horses and 
carryalls to the amount of 958 days, which, at $1 70 per day, (my 
contract price,) amounts to $1,628 60, while my horses and carryalls 
stood idle, unemployed, ready to perform the work. It will be seen by 
reference to the contract that these horses and carryalls were not to 
be driven by me or any one in my employment or under my control, 
but by those in the service of the House, and under the control of the 
postmaster of the House. All I had to do was to feed them, and keep 
them in readiness for the service of the House. It was all the same 
to me, provided I kept them ready for the sf^rvice of the House when 
wanted, whether they worked or not. I was under no obligation by 
the contract that they should work. All that was required of me was 
to keep them in readiness to work ; and if I did that, I was equally 
entitled to my pay whether they worked or not; and this $1,628 60 
for horses and carryalls, and the $351 24 for hauling, amounting 
to $1,979 84, I am equitably and legally entitled to, and of which no 
earthly power can deprive me, except on the arbitrary principle that 
MIGHT makes right. But this $1,979 84, of which I am unjustly 
deprived, is not near as much as the damage I have sustained by the 
wilful abuse and destruction of my property by those in the service of 
the House. One horse (cost $100) entirely ruined ; another (cost 
$125) killed ; another (cost $150) injured so that he was never again 
used, and died after an expense of doctoring and keeping over 15 
months; another (cost $300) killed ; other valuable horses injured so 
as to render them nearly worthless ; numbers crippled so that we lost 
their services for months, and had to hire others in their places at a 
higher price per day than we were allowed by the contract, besides 
the expense of keeping ours while they were unfit for business, making 
853 days that these horses were injured so as to be unfit for business, 
and others hired to supply their places. Three sets of harness en- 
tirely destroyed, (cost $25 each ;) damage to the three carryalls 
in expense of repairs and injuries sustained of more $50 each, making 
an amount of damage of more than $.J,000, besides having, for want 
of the money justly due me by the House, all the balance of my prop- 
erty sacrified under the hammer at a mere nominal price, and my 
family, in extreme sickness, deprived of every earthly comfort, and 
have been compelled to pass through hardships and sufferings which 
the heart sickens to contemplate. At that time I was doing a good 
business, which yielded me over $2,000 per year, but by having all 
my property, which was not destroyed in the performance of that 
contract, sacrificed under the hammer for debts contracted in the 



26 J. W. NYE. 

performance of that contract, amounting to less than one-half what 
was then due me by the House under that contract, I have been en- 
tirel,y thrown out of all business for more than six years, having 
nothing left to do with or to begin with. It has been said that the 
postmaster exceeded his authority in making this contract with me ; 
but it will be seen, by reference to the acts of the House during the 
second sess{o7i of the 27th Congress, that he was required to make 
the contract with some person on the best terras that he might find 
practicable ; and as that act has never been repealed, all horses and 
carryalls that have been employed in the service of the House since 
that time in any other manner, have been employed in violation and 
contempt of the law of the House. But admitting, for the sake of 
argument, that he had no authority to make any such contract at 
all but that he or any other ])erson did make such a contract with- 
out any authority tvhatever, but, after being made, the House ac- 
quiesced in the contract, it became, in every sense and to every pur- 
pose, as LEGAL and as binding on the House as* though they had pre- 
viously appointed him and clothed him with authority to perform this 
very act. By reference to the testimony of the chairman of the Commit- 
tee of Accounts, (Hon. General McDowell,) it will be seen that after this 
contract was made, it was by the House referred to the Committee of 
Accounts for their examination and approval or rejection ; and that, 
after a careful examination, they unanimously approved the same as 
conformable to the law authorizing the postmaster to contract with 
some person for this work. And now, unless they can show that the 
contractor has failed to comply with the terms of the contract, there is 
no way that the House can honorably disengage themselves from the 
fulfilment on their part of all its stipulations and requirements. Let 
us now examine the testimony, and see whether there has been any fail- 
ure on the part of the contractor, or any just cause of complaint of any 
kind whatever. Hon. Gen. McDowell states that he never heard any 
complaint while he was chairman of the Committee of Accounts. The 
assistant postmaster of the House states under oath that he never heard 
any complaint against Mr. Nye or any of his property until Mr. Nye 
complained of the abusive and destructive manner in which they were 
using his property. It is in proof that it was the best property ever 
put on that work. After the refusal of the postmaster to allow this 
property to perform the contract, the Committee of Accounts went out 
and examined the property, and they decided unanimously that it was 
sufiiciently good. The testimony is abundantly sufficient to show that 
the property was sufficiently good. And there has never been any com- 
plaint or any testimony that it was not ahvays ready in season or when 
wanted. One of the messengers (Mr. Henry) states that his horse 
and carryall was ahvays ready in season, frequently at his 
door before he was up, though the contractor was under no obligation 
to send them to the messengers ; all he was under any obligation to do 
was to have them in readiness at the stables when wanted. Let us now 
examine the testimony, and see if there was anything in the conduct 
of the contractor to in the least justify the treatment he has re- 
ceived, or any cause whatever to justify the disannulling of the con- 
tract. The assistant postmaster states under oath that the contractor 



J. W. NYE. 27 

rendered essential service in the office during the first month, and that 
he and his son assisted the messengers during the first month in carry- 
ing the mail and learning them their routes — the postmaster and his 
messengers being entirely unacquainted with the business. That his 
son continued to assist whenever wanted during the session. That he 
always found Mr. Nye very kind and accommodating in rendering 
them any assistance — marking boxes, or assisting in anything they 
wanted. Now, all this service, rendered by the contractor and his 
son, was a mere gratuity, which he was not required by the contract 
to perform, and for which he or his son never received any compensa- 
tion whatever. The assistant postmaster and Mr. Henry, one of the 
messengers, and one of the postmaster's own witnesses, both state 
under oath that they never heard Mr. Nye use any disrespectful 
language to the postmaster or to any other person. Mr. Henry like- 
wise states that he never complained — that Mr. Nye had been so kind 
that he did not feel willing to complain. The postmaster, in justifica- 
tion of his Conduct, stated to the Committee of Accounts that what 
caused the first difficulty between him and Mr. Nye was that Nye 
purchased all his feed for his horses on a month's credit, promising to 
pay when the money was drawn for their work ; that when it was 
drawn, Nye refused to pay ; that they warranted him, and that he set 
them at defiance, which being denied by Nye, the man (Mr. Bowen) 
who furnished him his feed was summoned before the c:immittee, and 
he stated under oath, in the presence of the postmaster, that he furn- 
ished Nye all his feed, and that he received his pay punctually and 
honorably, and that he never warranted him. And yet after this 
charge was proven to be talse in the presence of the postmaster, it is 
in proof that he repeated the same charge to others. The contractor, 
having the fullest confidence in the rectitude and uprightness of all 
his actions and conduct, requested the committee, as a lavor to him, 
that they would allow the postmaster to prove any and every dis- 
honorable act that he could against him, pledging himself to the com- 
mittee that if the postmaster would prove one dishonorable, act during 
his WHOLE life, that he would relinquish all further claim to the con- 
tract, or any compensation therefor, and never again show himself 
before them. To this request the committee consented, at the same 
time telling Nye that he might bring forward any testimony that he 
could in defence of his character. The postmaster ransacked the 
loliole city in search of so7ne one by whom he could prove something 
against Mr. Nye, but could find none — not one. In the meantime, 
Mr, Nye brought forward a number of persons of the first respect- 
ability, who had been intimately acquainted with him for many years, 
ever since his residence in the city, to prove his character, but the 
committee refused to allow them to be sworn, saying that the post- 
master having failed to prove anything against him, it was unnecessary 
to prove anything in his own defence. From the whole testimony 
introduced, there does not appear the slightest cause for any hostility 
towards Nye, except his having the impertinence to complain of the 
destructive manner in which those under the charge of the postmaster 
were using his property. The assistant postmaster swears that he 
never heard any complaint against Nye or any of his property, until 



28 J W. NYE. 

Nye complained of the destructive manner in which they were using 
it. And the rapidity with which this property was destroyed is sur- 
passing all helief, until it is ascertained that small boys, and those 
utterly unacquainted with the driving or management of horses, were 
allowed to drive them, and not only these, hut others that would keep 
them out after twelve o'clock at night, and sometimes leave them 
standing, at that late hour of the night, without hitching, and that 
they ran away and broke the carriage to pieces; also, by another one, 
who used frequently to come in after twelve o'clock at night so drunk 
that he would have to be taken out of the carryall and carried home, 
all of which Nye was frequently complaining to the postmaster, both 
verbally and in writing, to none of which was the least attention paid, 
as sworn to by his assistant postmaster. But I will here state the 
cause of this hostility of the postmaster towards me — the truth of every 
word that I here state I will willingly state under the most solemn 
oath before a magistrate. Some time after the signing of the contract, 
the postmaster requested me, without any compensation therefor, to 
give up to a colored man what I believed to be the best part of the con- 
tract ; and on my refusing, through the counsel of my friends, (mem- 
bers of Congress and others,) to comply with his request, he declared 
with an oath that I should not make anything by the contract. I 
replied that I had the contract in writing, and would abide by it. 
His reply was, if I had it in writing, he could manage it so that I 
would make nothing by it. And now, in order to carry his threat 
into execution, he gives his messengers a direct interest in the contract 
of fifty cents per day each, extra comi)ensation, free from expense, if 
they could prevent my property from performing the work, and have 
Lee's property do it, as sworn to in his presence by Mr. Henry, one 
of his messengers, and one of his own witnesses. In the last Congress, 
Mr. Henry was examined by the Judiciary Committee as to the 
correctness of this testimony, and he acknowledged before that com- 
mittee that it was correct. The same committee likewise had my 
witnesses before them, to examine the printed testimony said to have 
been given by them before the Committee of Accounts, and they testi- 
fied before the Judiciary Committee that it was correct. And now in 
this controversy between the postmaster and myself, these messengers, 
having a direct interest in the result of the investigation, these (if I 
may be allowed the expression) bribed witnesses are brought forward 
to swear away and to deprive me of my rights. In no court of justice 
could their testimony have been taken. But had they no direct 
interest in the investigation, they were improper and incompetent 
witnesses. They were the ones who had caused the injury and destruc- 
tion of this property, and would consequently feel an interest in 
making it appear bad. But their contradiction of each other and of 
themselves, with the exception of Mr. Henry, would render their 
testimony of no account. One of them swears that he gave me a letter 
complaining of the property, but when I cross-examined him he ac- 
knowledged that he did not give it to me, but gave it to Mr. Rock. 
Yet Mr. Hock swears that he never gave him any such letter. Another 
swears that he frequently complained to me of the property, but when 
I cross-examined him he acknowledged that he had never spoken to 



J. W. NYE. 29 

me, but that he complaiued to ray son, which he said was the same 
thing. Yet my son stated under oath that he had never complained 
to him. Two of them swear that their carryall leaked all over, and 
that the carryalls were all three alike; yet Mr. Henry swears that his 
was dry, and did not leak : and it is in proof by other witnesses that 
they were tight and dry, and good carryalls. One of these witnesses 
swears that the ponies were poor and weak, and yetanother of these same 
witnesses swears that the ponies were in fine order and worked well. 
And such is the testimony brought forward against me, to deprive me 
of my rights ; and yet among all these witnesses they have nowhere 
brought home to the knowledge of the contractor any deficiency in the 
property. It is fully proven, and nowhere denied by the postmaster 
or his messengers, that when one horse was either killed or run down, 
another, and as good as could be obtained in this city, irnmediatdy 
put in its place. When one carriage was broken, another was im- 
mediately placed on the work. It will be seen, that if there were at 
any time a deficiency, it was through the fault of the postmaster and 
his messengers ; and they certainly cannot take the advantage of their 
OWN WRONG to deprive another person of his just rights. When this 
claim was before the Judiciary Committee in the last Congress, they 
allowed the postmaster and myself one week to procure any additional 
testimony either of us might wish. He procured no new testimony more 
than the printed testimony then before the committee, and here printed. 
Could he procure any testimony in justification of the manner in which 
I have been treated, or showing that of any of my witnesses untrue, he 
certainly owed it to himself, and to the honor and dignity of the House, 
whose officer he was, to have procured that testimony, that it might 
have been put on the record with this testimony, which has already 
been printed and put on the record by order of the House. The 
Judiciary Committee reported a resolution directing the Clerk of the 
House to pay me five hundred and twenty-five dollars out of the con- 
tingent fund of the House, (which I would not accept.) But the 
chairman and other members of that committee told me expressly that 
they did not report that small amount, believing it all I was entitled 
to, but that, from the prejudices created against me in the House by 
the Postmaster and his messengers, should they report a bill or reso- 
lution for the whole amount to which I was justly entitled, they did 
not think there would be any chance for me to obtain anything at all ; 
that they thought they might get that small amount allowed ; and in 
my distressed circumstances, that would be better than nothing. And 
I now most respectfully submit it to the consideration of your honorable 
body, whether it comports with the honor and dignity of the House of 
Representatives, with the honor and the dignity of the United States 
to suffer an American citizen, without being able to show any fault or 
wrong on his part to be thus crushed to the earth, and he and his 
family deprived of every earthly enjoyment_, and subjected to all the 
sufferings we have experienced during the last seven years, without 
any redress. And I would now most respectfully ask, if, on every 
principle of equity and justice, the contractor is not entitled to receive 
the full avails of his contract, unless it can be shown that he has 
failed to comply with the terms thereof; and is he not likewise justly 



30 J. W. NYE. 

entitled to the same pay per day for each horse while he was injured, 
so as to be unable to work, and another had to be hired in his place, 
as he had to pay for the one liired or his contract price ; and likewise 
pay for those horses killed or ruined by the wilful abuse of his prop- 
erty by those in the service of the House ? And is he not on every 
JUST AND HONORABLE principle entitled to receive the full amount of 
damages he has sustained in the destruction of his business, in conse- 
quence of the destruction of his property by those in the service of the 
House, and in consequence of the non-payment of the amount due 
under the contract ? 

All of which is respectfully submitted. J. W. NYE. 



ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY. 

No. 1. 
Letter of J. M. Johnson, dismissing the property. 

Post Office House of Representatives U. S. 

December'^i, 1844, 

Sir : In consequence of the very frequent accidents that occur by 
which the lives of the messengers in this office are jeopardized and the 
performance of their duties retarded, occasioned by the badness of 
your harness and wagons, your contract with, this office will cease after 
to-day. 

Respectfully, 

JNO. M, JOHNSON, 

Postmaster. 
Mr. Jas. W. Nye. 



No. 2. 
Testimony of George Mattingly. 



ss. 



Washington County, 
District of Columbia, 

On this 19th day of July, 1848, before me, the subscriber, a justice 
of the peace in and for said county, personally appeared George Mat- 
tingly, who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangely of Almighty 
G-od, deposeth and saith : That some time in December, 1844, J. W 
Nye received a notice from the postmaster of the House of Represen- 
tatives, inlorming him that the property that he had contracted to 
furnish for the use of the House of Representatives, would not be any 
longer used in the service of the House. That the said Nye wrote a 
letter to the said postmaster, and another to the Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Accounts: "That the property that he had contracted to 
furnish for the use of the House was on hand, in good order, and ready 



J. W, NYE. 31 

at any and all times to do the work of the House, and that he should 
demand and expect the pay for their services, according to the terms 
of the contract." And that he, the said Mattingly, delivered the 
aforesaid letters — one to the Chairman of the Committee on Accounts, 
and the other to the said postmaster of the House — and that while 
said property was idle he requested Nye to let him have one of those 
horses to use part of the day, which he, the said Nye, refused to do, 
saying, that their services belong to the House of Representatives, and 
that he would neither use them himself, nor let any other person use 
them, except in the service of the House, as he should claim pay for 
their services according to the terms of his contract during the whole 
term of said contract. 

GEORGE MATTINGLY. 

Subscribed and sworn to before the undersigned, the 19th day oi 
July, 1848. 

HENRY HOWISON, 

Justice Peace. 

No. 3. 
Deposition of John 31. Johnson in the case J. W. Nye. 

Post Office House of Representatives, 

31arch 30, 1852. 

Sir : In compliance with the request of the Hon. A. P. Edgarton, 
a member of the Committee on Claims, I beg leave to state, that in 
the month of January, 1844, I entered into a contract with J. W. 
Nye to furnish for the use of the House of Representatives, "three 
good horses omd, carriages," and " to keep them in good order.'' Very 
soon thereafter, there were complaints made to me by the messengers 
who drove the horses and carriages of the leaky and dangerous con- 
dition of two of the carriages, and of the rottenness of the har- 
ness, and of the unsuitableness of some of the horses, one which had 
to be goaded by a nail fixed in a stick, furnished by Nye. This state 
of things continued throughout the first session of the 28th Congress, 
although Nye was frequently spoken to to remedy them. I threatened 
to take the contract from him if he did not furnish suitable property, 
and he set me at defiance. 

Soon after he got the contract, he assigned the pay he was to receive 
for the horses and carriages to one George Mattingly and before the 
second session of the 28th Congress, I requested Mattingly to have 
suitable carriages and horses, and said if they were not, I should take 
the contract from Nye, but it had not the desired effect ; and, conse- 
quently, I notified Nye on the 24th December, 1844, that the contract 
with him would cease on the 31st of that month. At the same sessioii 
the matter was re/erred to the Committee of Accounts, and after the ex- 
amination of all of Nye's witnesses, including Kimmell and Walker, 
Mattingly a7id Andrew Rock, ivho loere creditors of Nye, the Committee 
decided that I had "properly revoked" the contract icith Nye, and "that 
Nye had not fulfilled the terms and conditions of the said contract, and 
that he is therefore not entitled to any compensation." — {See resolution 
of the Committee of the 1st March, 1845.) 



J 



32 J. W, NYE. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the first session of the 28th 
Congress, Nye called and requested me to discontinue his horses and 
carriages as soon as possible, as Mattingly received pay for them, and 
said he (Nye) had to feed them ; that he was scarce of funds, and 
could pasture them cheaper in the country than he could feed them in 
town. Notwithstanding that request, Nye now claims compensation 
for a horse and carriage for the recess. 

After the contract was taken from Nye, he attempted to impose 
upon the Committee of Accounts by showing them better and difierent 
horses than those used while he had the contract. 

At the first session of 30th Congress the claim of Nye was again 
referred to the Committee of Accounts, and some member of the com- 
mittee informed me that, in order to get rid of Nye's importunities, 
they resolved to pay him $91, which was '' to be in full of all claims 
for services or otherwise, under a contract luith the postmaster of the 
House of Representatives, dated IBth January, 1844." — (See Journal 
of Committee of Accounts^ January 11, 1848.) 

I am satisfied that the member of the Judiciary Committee who re- 
ported in favor of paying Nye $525, was grossly deceived by misrep- 
resentations made to him, and that his report was not based upon the 
testimony which induced two or three previous committees to decide 
against the claim, and regret that that testimony, which was deposited 
in the clerk's office, has been lost or mislaid. 

Nye did not pretend to claim before the first Committee of Accounts 
who acted on his claim any compensation for a horse and carriage 
during the recess, or for dead horses, although a recess had the7i passed, 
through which he now claims pay for a horse and carriage, and two 
months had elapsed from the time I had revoked the contract. The 
only claim that Nye presented to that committee was for hauling. 
Had he have had any other, he doubtless would have presented it. 
The claim for the use of a horse and carriage during the recess and 
for dead horses is entirely an afterthought, and of which I do not re- 
collect to have heard for two or three years after I revoked the contract. 
I am, verv respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JNO. M JOHNSON, 

Fosiniaster. 

Hon. J. R. J. Daniel, 

Ohairjnan Committee on Claims. 

P. S. I honestly believe that the horses and carriages which Nye 
furnished would not at any time have sold for $500 cash, and he re- 
ceived from the government for the use of them for about seven months 
$1,000 or upwards ; and two of the horses when the contract was 
revoked were in better order than they were when they were first put 
in the service. 

JNO. M. JOHNSON, 
Postmaster House of Representatives. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 31st day of March, 1852. 

J. W. BECK, 
Justice of the Peace. 



J. W. NYE. 



No. 4. 
Affidavit of J. W. Nye, in reply to John 31. Johnson. 

I have seen and read the deposition of John M. Johnson, postmaster 
of the House of Representatives, of the 30th March, on the subject of 
the contract entered into between him and myself for furnishing 
certain vehicles for the use of the House of Representatives during the 
28th Congress. I make the following statement on oath, in reply, in 
order that both sides may be fairly heard. 

I declare thac the quality of the animals and carriages furnished 
was not only good, and fully sufficient, but was of a higher grade than 
was necessary to have been placed in such service. In support of this 
statement, I refer to the depositions of Kimmell, page 2 ; Walker, p. 
3 ; Bowen, p. 3 ; Batson, p. 4 ; Rock, p. 5 ; N. W. Nye, pp. 5 and 6 ; 
Mattingly, p. 6 ; Willett, pp. 6 and 7 ; Robinson, p. t ; and the Hon. 
Mr. Rodney, p. 10. I never received any comjjlaint from him on the 
subject until I received his letter, dated the 24th December, 1844, 
informing me that the contract was revoked. Mr. Johnson has mis- 
stated a fact in his deposition, when he swears he gave me notice, on 
the 24th of December, that my service would cease on the 31st of 
December. His letter is annexed hereto, and shows it was to take 
eflfect from its date. The Hon. J, J. McDowell, chairman of the 
Committee on Accounts, to whom, naturally, such complaints would 
have been made, declares, on pages 1 and 2, that he heard no com- 
plaints of the kind from Mr. Johnson. 

I never received any notice from Mr. Johnson of his intention to 
take the contract from me, except on one occasion, when he required 
me to pay for two days' service of a horse and carryall belonging to 
Lee, Ui^ed by one of his messengers, while I had one ready for use 
standing in the yard, which I refused to do. Perhaps this is what he 
calls setting him at defiance. I frequently heard of his threatening to 
take the contract from me,if hecould. — (»SeeMr. Hill's deposition, p. 2.) 

I confe>s that a bare majority of the Committee on Accounts of the 
second session 28th Congress decided that the contract was properly 
revoked. I requested them to point out wherein I had violated my 
contract, which they failed to do. I solemnly declare that I never 
asked Mr. Johnson to discontinue the use of my stock during either 
vacation of Congress. He was soliciting me to allow others to furnish 
a vehicle during vacation, which I refused to do, declaring that, as 
long as a vehFcTe of any kind was required for the use of the House 
during the 28th Congress, I would furnish it under my contract. He 
requested me to give him the key of the public stable, that one of his 
messengers might keep a horse there during the summer, and I refused 
to do so on the above ground, and that no one, by my consent, should 
furnish stock for that purpose. — (See deposition of N. W. Nye, page 
12.) I solemnl ■ deny the charge of having imposed different prop- 
erty on the Committee on Accounts for examination from that used by 
me. This charge is fully met by the testimony of persons who were 
capable of knowing the truth, as they kept the stable, and knew the 

H. Rep. Com. 439 3 



34 J. W. NYE. 

horses and other property employed and examined. — (See Batson, p. 
4 ; N. W. Nye, p. 6.) 

As to the value of the proi)erty, the deposition referred to in the 
second ])aragra))h herein, will prove that I expended nearly if not quite 
$2,000 in the original and nuhsequent purchase. The first set of horses 
and vehicles cost me $825, and they could not have been purchased in 
this market for less price. The cruel treatment of the animals, and 
wanton destruction of the carriages by the messengers, notwitlistand- 
ing my rej)eated remonstrances, compelled me to go to a ruinous out- 
lay to rejdace damaged property. There was but one horse which did 
not share that fate, and it was because he was treated humanely by his 
driver, Mr. Henry. It was no afterthought that I claimed pay during 
vacation, as I presented my claim for that service to the Committee on 
Accounts, at the second session of Congress, and at their request with- 
drew it till the question of continuance of the contract should be set- 
tled. I took testimony before that committee to prove the destruction 
of property by the messengers ; but no demand for payment was then 
made, for the same reason. As that committee did not report till the 
last day of the session, it was of necessity postponed to a succeeding 
Congress, 

Tlie payment of |91, ordered by the Committee on Accounts, was 
for hauling done by me under my contract, and not for any service 
included in my present claim. Although the committee directed their 
clerk to ])ay it as in full of all claims, I refused to receive it as buch_, 
but entered my protest at the time. A subsequent committee of the 
House of Representatives did not consider it as in full, for they al- 
lowed me $525 in addition, for the service of horses and carryalls, 
which I declined receiving, and so it now stands. 

In regard to the lost testimony spoken of by Mr. Johnson, I declare 
that the deposition printed in document No. 117, second session 29th 
Congress, is the testimony, and all the testimony, to my knowledge, 
ever before any previous committee. It was taken before the Com- 
mittee on Accounts, second session 28th Congress, was referred to 
Committee of Claims, second session 29th Congress, and was again 
submitted to the Judiciary Committee of 30th Congress, who exam- 
ined nine of the witnesses in person, who declared those were the same 
taken before the Committee on Accounts, as above stated, and were 
true, of which the most of them had previously sworn to before a jus- 
tice. The committee also took additional testimony, which had not 
been before any previous committee, which is now before the present 
Committee of Claims. The Judiciary Committee also refused to hear 
any statement from either party, except both were present. 

J. W. NYE. 

District of Columbia, > 
County of Washington, ^ ' 

Sworn to before me, a justice of the peace in and for said county, 
this 8th day of April, 1852. 

B. K. MORSELL, J. P. 



J. W. NYE. 35 



No. 5. 
Testimony of Mr.. Thomas Scrivner. 

Washington, 3Iay 14, 1852. 

Gentlemen : I am informed that you were police officers, at the 
Capitol, during the second session of twenty-eighth Congress, when the 
horses and carryalls, furnished by J. W. Nye for the service of the 
House of Representatives, were taken by order of the Committee on 
Accounts, to the Capitol for examination, after they had been dis- 
missed by the postmaster of the House, and that you probably saw 
them on that occasion, as you had been in t1ie habit of seeing them 
previous to that time, will you please state whether the horses exhib- 
ited on that occasion were or were not the same that Mr. Nye had 
used for that service previously, while he was engaged in the service 
of the House, under his contract. By doing so at your earliest con- 
venience, you will oblige. 

Yours, respectfully, 

JOHN M. McCALLA. 

John L. Wirt, Esq., 

Thomas Scrivner, Esqt. 

Sir: In answer to the above, I hereby state that I was one of the 
police officers of the Capitol during the second session of twenty-eighth 
Congress ; at the time the Committee on Accounts went out and ex- 
amined the property, after it had been dismissed by the postmaster of 
the House, which had been furnished by Mr. Nye for the service of 
the House, I well recollect three of them, one a large sorrel horse, and 
two gray Canadian ponies, which had all three been in the service of 
the House previous to the dismission of said property ; I have no re- 
collection of seeing any horse there, for the examination of said com- 
mittee, that had not been employed in the service of the House. 
Yours, repectfully, 

THOS. SCRIVNER. 

Gen. John M. McCalla. 



No 6. 
Testimony of John L. Wirt. 



Washington, May 28, 1852. 
Sir: To your note, dated May 14, I reply that I was one of the 
police officers of the Capitol during the twenty-eighth Congress, and 
that while Mr. Nye's horses and carryalls were in the service of the 
House of Representatives, during that Congress, I used to see them 
every day. When the Committee on Accounts examined them during 
the second session of that Congress, after the postmaster refused to 
let them be used any longer in the service of the House, I was f)resent, 
and I saw no horse there for the committee to examine that had not 



86 J. W. NYE. 

been used in llic service of" flic House, wliih^ T\Ir. Nye's Iiopncsh w(!ro 
jierfoi mill;; l.liiit work. lliul II.ck! been any Htieli. 1 cerluitd 1/ nhould 
liavu noticed it.. 

Yours, rcHpectfiilly, 

.lOJlN L. WIKT. 
Qcn. John M. McCalla. 



Mo. 1. 
Tcsilmony of J)/r. James A. lUnocn. 

8tA'IK of M AUYIiANl), ) 

Prince (reonjc'ti Comity, ) 

On \)\\H Hecoiid day <»(' Deeenilier, in tlio y(»ar of our Lord ei^liteen 
hundred and lilty-fonr, ))erore nii', a jiisliee of the jieacc^ in and lor tlie 
paid county, iiorsonally apjieared .lanufH A. Bowen, who, being duly 
8worn on the lloly Mvan^(dy of Aliiiif^lity (Jod, depoH<'th and naith, 
that in 1844 he was livin;j; on (^ipitoi Hill, in Wahhiii};toii eily, keep- 
ing a leed store; that in rlaiiiiai}' ol" that year Mr. J. W. Nye obtained 
a eontraet t.o rnrnish horsi's and (^arryalis lor the uko of th<' House of" 
Jvepresenfatives for that (JongresH ; that lit^ {Mv. Howen) furnished Mr. 
Nye tlie I'vva] for his horses emph)yed at the C!!apitol that session, and 
Hoinetinie during the ensuing session, until the jtostniaster of tlu; House 
refused to let Nye's property any longer pcMf'orni said servicer ; that ho 
used to see tlu^ horses every day that they were in the servic;e of tho 
House, taking particular notice of them in eonseiiuenee of the nianiwr 
in which they were driven by the niessi-ngeis who bad charge of them, 
l^oing informed somo time after tho refusal of the postmaster to allow 
Nye's property to perform the service, that tho Oommitt(KM>n Accounts 
bad directed Mr. Nye to have the property Takoji to the Capitol for 
their e.xamiiiat ion, that he went over to flu* Ca|iitol, and was j>resent 
when tlu! committee examined ihem ; that, there were two gray Cana- 
dian j)onies and a bob-tailed bay horse harnessed to the carryalls, and 
that these three liorses, and the three carryalls, were tho same that 
were in the service of the House at the time the postmaster refused to 
let fliem be used any longer in that service ; and that, in addition tt) 
these three liorses, Nye had two or tlii'ee others there thai had heeii 
used in that service duiiiig lliat session, oiu' a long-tailed hay horse, 
called Charley, and a large soriel horse, called Hill, and he thinks 
another Imh-tailed bay ; and he further states that Mr. Nye had no 
borse there that morning that had not been u.>>'ed in the servit-e of the 
Jlouse that session. dAS. A. IJOWEN. 

Sworu and subscribed before me, the day and year above written. 

F. K. BROOKS, J. r. 



J. W. NYE. 37 



No. 8. 



Testimony of Mr. A. J. Rock. 

WASFriNdTON County, ) 
DiHirici of Colum/jiu, \ ' ' 

On il)iH 2()tli (lay of M;iy, in tho year oConr liord one thousand eight 
liuii(lrc<l and lil'ty-Hix, lieloro nu;, i\\(i HuhHcrihcf, a justice of the [x'ace 
in and lor the county aCorcKaid, [jet 8'iMally a[)))('ar(?d Andrew J. Kock, 
who, heiri<^(luly kwoiti on the Holy TiVanjj^ely ol Alrni}.;hty (iod, (le[)0HeH 
and Haith, tliat during the i^Hth (Jon<^ieKH, while Mr. .J. W. Nye'whoiHeH 
were in the service ot the House of Representatives, he used to see tiiem 
every day, being ernjdoyed l)y Mr. Nye njost of the time in taking 
cliarg(! of them. KSome tim(; during the fore part of the second sfissiori 
of that ('()n}i,t('HH the postmastcir ol' tlie House rcffused to let Mr. Wye's 
l)roperty any longer l>e ukcmI in the service} of the llouKe. After said 
I)ro[)erty had been dismisKed hy the [)ostmaster, the Committee oq 
Accounts, who had the subject before them for their investigation, di- 
rected Mr. Nye to have the jjroperty tak<!n to the Ca[)itol, lor their 
examination of its quality. Mr. Nye got me to assist his son atid Mr. 
iJatson to take them to the Ca|)ir()l, and J was pr(!H<;nt when the com- 
niitt(;(!examin('d th(!m. We look there; two gray (.anadian j)onies, a bolj- 
tailed bay, and a large sorrel horse, call(;d i{ill, which four were in the 
service oi the House at the time the postmaster refused to let them any 
longer pcirform said service. We likewise took two or three others 
there which had also been employed in said service ; but there waH 
nota hoiHc tak(;n tliere,oi- prcHcnted to the conimittc e, tliat had iK^tlieen 
used in that service while Mr. Nye's property was (loing that work. 

AJSDKEW J. liOCK. 

Sworn and subscribed before me, the day and year above written. 

Z. K. ObM^^UTT, J. r. 



No. 9. 

Extract from the testimony of Mr. John W. Baffion, sworn before Com- 
mittee on Accoui.is, page 4. 

When the committee examined tjiis f)roperty, shortly after it was 
disn)iHKe<l, they were all — horses, carryall, and harness — in the same 
condition tliey were in when they were dismisse<l. After tlie ])ro[)erty 
was (lltsmiKKcel, Mr. Nye refuHcd to use it hiniHelf, or let any one else, 
except for the service of the House. He kept them expressly I'or the 
service of the House, having them harnessed and sent to the Capitol, 
mornings, the same as belbre they were dismissed. 



38 J- W. NYE. 



No. 10. 



Extract from the testimony of Norman W. Nye, sworn before the Com- 
mil tee on Accounts, page 6. 

The horses, carryalls, and harness, when examined in the Ca])itol 
yard a few days ago, were the same that were in the service of tlie 
House at the time of their dismission, and in the same condition as 
they were when they were dismissed. 



No. 11. 

Affidavit of J. W. Nye, in relation to his difficully with the postmas- 
ter of the House. 

Washington, April 7, 1852. 

Dear Sir : In compliance with your request for me to make a state- 
ment of the cause or causes of the hostility of Mr. Johnson, postmas- 
ter of the House of Representatives, and a pirtofhis messengers, to- 
wards me, I will here state all, and the onl^ cause I ever knew for that 
hostility. 

Soon after I had purchased the necessary property, and was in the 
faithful performance of said contract, Mr, Johnson requested me to 
give up to a colored man, without any coraj)ensation therefor, the 
hauling, which I considered the best part of said contract, and on my 
refusing to do so, he declared, with an oath, that I should make nothing 
by the contract. I replied that I had it in loriting, and would abide 
by it. He replied that if I had it in writing, he could manage it so 
that I could make iioihing by it. He, in violation of the contract, al- 
lowed Lee to do the liauling, until I complained to the Committee on 
Accounts, who informed Mr. Johnson that the hauling belonged to 
me, and that he must not allow it to be done by any other person. 
Notwithstanding, he allowed Lee and others to do the hauling to the 
amount of over three hundred dollars, while that hauled by me did not 
amount to tivo hundred, dollars. 

Shortly after my refusal to give up the hauling, the greatest abuse 
and destruction of this property was practiced by those under the 
control of Mr. Johnson, with the exception of Mr. Henry, that I ever 
knew practiced by civilized beings ; and on my remonstrating with 
Mr. Johnson and his mi'ssengers against the abuse of the property^ all 
the satisfaction I could obtain was insult and abuse. 

A number of these horses liad been ruined by William Sprigg, who 
was not in the service of the House, but would distribute the mails for 
Smallwood, one of Mr. Johnson's messengers, for the sake of the ride, 
and the use of the horse and carryall, after he had distributed the 
mails, for his own pleasure ; and he used frequently to come to the 



J. W. NYE. 39 

stable, with his horse and carryall, after 12 o'clock at night, so drunk 
that he was unable to get out of the carryall. I used every exertion 
in my power, with Johnson and Smallwood, to prevent Sprigg from 
driving, but without success. One evening, being informed that 
Sprigg, after having distributed his mail, was driving the horse and 
carryall in a very abusive manner, I went in pursuit of him, in order 
to take the p'-operty from him, and found it standing in front of a 
grog shop ; and as I came up, Smallwood and Sprigg came out, and 
Smallwood got into the carryall ; and as Sprigg went to get in, I 
stepped between him and the carryall, telling him that he should not 
get into the carryall, on which Smallwood drew a dirk and made a 
stab at me, declaring that he would take my life ; I left him and went 
to the Capitol to see Mr. Johnson ; and as I was going through the 
yard, I saw Smallwood and Sprigg come in at the opposite gate, and 
advanced towards me at a rapid rate, Smallwood having a drawn dirk 
in his hand, and swore that he would take my life. I stopped, and 
prepared to defend myself at their expense. But before they got to 
me, one of the police, who was on duty that night, Mr. Wails, hear- 
ing Smallwood's threat, came on the run, and ordered them out of the 
yard. Mr. Johnson was informed of this, but never, to my know- 
ledge, took any notice of it. 

I also further state, that on the 3d of March, 1845, when the chair- 
man of the Committee on Accoants made a report from a majority of 
that committee, that my contract was properly revoked, I having 
failed to comply with my part of the contract, and not knowing a soli- 
tary instance in which I had failed to comply, I called on each of that 
majority to point to a single case where I had failed to comply ; from 
two of them I could get no information, further than that it was too 
late to have anything further done that session. The other said : 
" Mr. Nye, I will tell you plainly why we decided against you. We 
were satisfied that you never had any right or title to the contract ; you 
obtained it through fraud and deception. Mr. Johnson informed us 
that your friends represented to him that you had always been a 
thorough going democrat, and that you had made great exertions in 
support of the democratic party and of democratic measures, which 
caused him to give you the contract, but that he had afterwards ascer- 
tained that you never were a democrat, and never professed to be a 
democrat, but acted with the whigs, and voted with the whigs, until 
the democrats came into power in this Congress, and then you turned 
around and jjrofessed to be a. flaming democrat, in order to obtain favor 
at our hands, and we were not willing that a man who had obtained 
a valuable contract, through fraud and deception, should enjoy the 
benefit of it," Had I been informed of the charge at the time, I 
could have proved it untrue by every person with whom I had ever 
been acquainted ; for though I considered the whigs as honest and as 
honorable as the democrats, and had as much respect for them person- 
ally^ yet I had never at that time given a whig vote during my whole 
life. I have, since this charge was made, obtained the testimony of 
the most respectable citizens wherever I have lived since I was 
eighteen years of age, showing not only this charge to be untrue, but 
showing that I sustained a character of the strictest honesty and in- 



40 J. W. NYE. 

tegrity up to the time that Mr. Johnson commenced these slanderous 
attacks upon me. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

J. W. NYE, 
Hon. A. P. Edgerton, 

Chairman of the Committee of Claims, of the 

House of Representatives. 



ss. 



Washington County, 
District of Columbia. 

On this Tth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty-two, before me, the subscriber, a instice of the 
peace in and for the county aforesaid, persona ly came J. W. Nye, and 
made oath on the Holy Evangely of Almighty God, that the foregoing 
statements are each and all of them just and true as therein stated, 
according to the best of his knowledge and belief. 

B. K. MORSELL, 

Justice of the'^eace. 



No. 12. 

Mr. Henry, sworn before the Committee for the District of Columbia, 
July 15, 1856, in regard to the severity of the wor'k on the horses and 
carryalls. 

Question, by Judge Bennett. "Was not the work of the horses, carry- 
ing the mails^ so hard as, with ordinary driving, to ruin them in a 
short time ? 

Ansiver. Were they properly driven, and met with no other acci- 
dent, they would live until they died with old age. I have one now 
which has been in constant service in this work eight years, and is in 
as good condition now as when first put on said work. 



No. 13. 

Mr, White, sworn before the Committee for the District of Columbia, July 

15, 1856. 

When Mr. Nye's horses were performing this work, as I was 
coming out of Georgetown one day, I met young Mr. Kendall, one of 
the postmaster's messengers, driving into Georgetown with one of 
Mr. Nye's horses and carryalls, with two or three young men with 
him in the carryall, driving the horse at a full run, covered with 
foam. Mr. Kendall and my family were very intimate. A short 
time after that, he called at my house ; I told him that he ought not 
drive at that rate, that it would certainly kill the horse. His reply 
was, "that was no matter; that he could have a /re,s7i horse when- 
ev( r he wanted ; and in all probability it would not be many days be- 
fore they would have some other person to furnish the property." 



J. W NYE. 41 



No. 14. 



Washington City, July 10, 1856. 

I hereby certify that soon after the adjournment of Congress, in 
1845, the horses and carryalls that had been furnished by Mr. J. W. 
Kye, for the use of the House of Representatives of the United States, 
during that Congress, were sold at public sale, under a deed of trust, 
and I purchased a part of the property, and amongst which was the 
pair of Canadian ponies ; $142, to the best of my belief, was what I 
paid for them ; and I afterwards sold the most inferior one of them, 
in my opinion^ for |170 ; the other I kept, and he died. Mine 
and the rest of the property, I do believe, was sold all about the 
same time. All the property sold to J. W. Nye, for the use of the 
House of Representatives of the United States, at that time, by Wal- 
ker & Kimmell, was all sold at low cash prices, as we had no par- 
ticular use for the property at the time but to turn into cash. 

A. F. KIMMELL. 

Hon. Mr. Meacham, 

Chairman Committee for District of Columbia. 



No. 15. 
Mr. W. G. W. White's certificate. 

Washington, Maij 24, 1856. 

I hereby certify that about the time Mr. J. W. Nye had a contract 
for furnishing horses and carryall's for the twenty-eighth Congress, a 
citizen of Washington presented me a security, (for a debt he owed 
me,) securities which J. W. Nye had given to this man, to secure the 
payment of several hundred dollars, which Mr. Nye had borrowed of 
him, and for which I was informed that Mr. Nye paid him _y^ue per 
ctnt. per month. 

W. G. W. WHITE. 



No. 16. 

Letter of Gen. McCalla to the Chairman of the Committee for the District 

of Columbia. 

Washington, May 24, 1856. 

Sir : Your letter of yesterday is this moment received, requesting 
information as to the distress suffered by J. W. Nye and his family 
for many years past, and also in regard to the rate of interest charged 
by money lenders while I was Second Auditor of the Treasury. 

It would require too much of detail to give you a full picture of 
all that Mr. Nye and his family have suflfered since I knew him first, 
which was in 1845. He has gone through every suffering which 



42 J. W. NYE. 

sickness, want of clothing, and hunger, and loss of children caused by 
those sufferings, could be heaped upon one man's devoted head. 
Plow he has borne his calamities, and strugijled on against them all, 
has often astonished me, and has made me remark to my friends, I 
had never seen a man persevere in his efforts under such disadvan- 
tages. He has had to suffer loss of his children, without means to 
procure medicines in their sickness, or coffins in which to inter them, 
and I verily believe their deaths were, in a great degree, chargeable 
to his destitution of suitable food, clothing and necessary comforts. 

The usual rate of interest charged on small sums was five per cent. 
per month, and I knew of very few, if any cases, where the charge 
was lower. Since then I have known many cases in which a higher 
rate has been charged and paid. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J^^O. M. McCALLA. 

Hon. J. Meacham, 

Chairman of Committeefor District of Columbia, H. R. 



No. 17. 

Extract from H. 31is. Doc. No. 129, Is^ session, 34^A Congress. 

When Nye took the carryall contract in 1844, he was doing a good 
business, keeping a livery stable and running hacks, which yielded him 
at least $3,000 a year, and he thinks exceeded that amount ; and his 
family were living as well as any family in the city. But from the 
destruction of his property by those in the service of the House, and 
the vast expense which he was subjected to in purchasing and hiring 
horses to perform the contract, and feeding those crippled while unfit 
for service, and failing to receive his pay according to the terms of said 
contract, he was unable to meet his engagements, and had, while he 
and his family were prostrated by sickness, his remaining horses, car- 
riages, harness, and every article of furniture they had in the house 
(except the beds on which they slept and some window curtains) taken 
and sacrificed for less than half their worth ; and the whole amount 
for which they were taken being far less than the amount due him 
under the contract, not leaving himself or family any means of subsist' 
ence whatever, except this lot of ground, (leased to him bj' the Presi- 
dent,) from the avails of which he could have comfortably supported 
himself and family had he not have been deprived thereof by the 
Commissioner of Public Buildings ; and all the support he had for 
himself^ (while sick,) and nine in family, was what his son, in feeble 
health, could earn, until he was struck down by the fell destroyer, 
cohswmption, brought on by over exertion to relieve the family from 
suffering ; and during his sickness, and after his death, his oldest sister, 
in her eighteenth year, worked in a printing office, folding documents, 
being almost the only support of the family for two years, until she, 
too, fell a victim to the same unrelenting disease which caused Ihe 
death of her brother. And when her strength failed her, so that she 
could no longer get to the printing office, she took iu shoes to bind, in 



J. W. NYE. 43 

order to relieve the sufferings of the family, until she was confined to 
her bed ; and in a little more than two years from the first attack of 
consumption she was laid by the side of her brother, both having gone 
down to the cold and silent grave by disease brought on by the wants 
of the necessary comforts of life, and over exertions to relieve the rest 
of the family from suffering. Daring the same year another of his 
family was taken from him by death ; and at the time of their death 
he had no means to procure for them a decent burial, which was done 
by the kindness of their friends. And at the present time, when he is 
not able to work or is out of employment, all the support his family 
has is what another daughter earns in the printing office, whose health 
is visibly declining as her sister's was. 

J. W. NYE. 

Washington County, District of Columbia^ ss. 

On this 19th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty-six, before me, the subscriber, a justice of the 
peace in and for the county aforesaid, personally appeared J. W. Nye, 
and made oath on the Holy Evangely of Almighty God that the fore- 
going stateoients are each and all of them just and true, as herein 
stated, according to the best of his knowledge and belief. 

Sworn and subscribed before me, the day and year above written, 

B. K. MOUSELL, J. P. 



No. 18. 
Letter of Mr. Nalley, superintendent Union folding rooms and hindery. 

Washington, May 22, 1856. 

Sir : I hereby certify that, between the years 1848 and 1852, Miss 
Ellen Josephine Nye, daughter of Mr. J. W. Nye, worked in the 
Union office, folding documents under my superintendence a large 
part of the time. She was in fine health when she commenced work 
in said office, but the latter part of her time her health began to 
decline, until her strength failed her so that she was unable to get to 
the office^ having a long distance to walk ; and, according to the best 
of my recollection, she died in July,, 1853. 

After her health failed, so as to be unable to get to the office, her 
younger sister, Mary Frances Nye^ took her place, and has worked 
there most of the time since. But about the commencement of last 
winter her health has visibly declined, and she looks pale and feeble, 
and does not appear to be in as good health as her sister was one year 
before her death. 

WM. H. NALLEY, Union Bindery, 

Mr. J. W. Nye. 



44 J W. NYE. 

No. 19. 

Bill for horses and carryalls, as per contract loith House of Repre- 
sentatives, 2Sth Congress, and amount of damages claimed. 

Amount due J. W. Nye from House of Representatives, according to the 
terms of his contract for furnishing horses and carryalls for the service 
of said House for the 28th Congress, also amount of loss by the wilful 
abuse of the property by those in the service of the House, and amount 
of loss by sacrifice of property beloio its real value to 'pay debts con- 
tracted ivhile performing said contract, and sold in consequence of his 
not receiving his pay according to the terms of said contract : 

Amount due as per contract for horses and 

carryalls $1,628 60 

Amount due as per contract for hauling boxes 

and other articles 351 24| 

$1,979 84^ 

Number of days horses were unfit for business 
from injuries, and others had to be hired in 
their places at higher prices than his con- 
tract price, 853 days, which, at contract 
price, |1 70 per day 1,450 10 

One bay horse, entirely ruined ; cost |100 — 

loss 100 00 

One bay horse, made entirely blind ; cost 

$100, sold for less than $20— loss 80 00 

One sorrel horse, (John,) injured so that he 
died after several months' doctoring and 
care; cost $150 — loss 150 00 

One gray horse, (Peacock,) killed ; cost 

$125~los8 125 00 

One splendid bay mare, (Belle,) 18 hands 
high — a colt of the celebrated Eclipse — 
iniured so that she died after two weeks' 
care and doctoring ; cost 300 00 

Cash paid Wallace for doctoring Belle and 

Nick 20 00 

775 00 

Three sets of harness, cost $25 each, de- 
stroyed, loss 75 00 

Three carryalls, cost $100 each, sold for $130, 
loss $170 ; besides, costing over $100 for 
new wheels, axles, shafts, and other re- 
pairs, from wilful abuse 270 00 

Seven horses, worth at least $970, sacrificed 

for $370, loss 590 00 

Furniture, worth at least $200, sacrificed for 

$21, loss 179 00 

Ilackuey coach, sacrificed at a loss of 250 00 

1,364 00 

Whole amount 5,568 94^ 



J 



J. W. NYE. 45 

The seven horses, furniture, and hackney coach, worth at least 
$2,150, sacrificed for debts amounting to only $771, when there was 
due, according to the terms ol his contract, |1,979 84^, which, could 
he have obtained it, would have paid these debts, and left a balance of 
|1,208 84^. He was likewise doing a profitable business, keeping a 
livery stable and running hacks, which was entirely broken up by the 
sale of the property, which had not been previously destroyed by those 
in the service of the House ; and he considers himself eqaitahly and 
justly entitled to be paid the amount which he could make per year 
by said business, from the time it was broken up until he is paid his 
just dues by the House of Representatives. He has, by a resolution 
of the House of the 33d Congress, been paid $525 on the foregoing 
account. 

Washington County, ) 
District of Columbia, ) ' 

On this twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, before me, a justice of the peace 
in and for said county, personally appeared J. W. Nye, and made oath 
on the Holy Evangely of Almighty God that the foregoing statements 
are all and each of them just and true, as therein stated, according to 
the best of his knowledge and belief. 

B. K. MORSELL, J. F. 



No. 20. 

The following testimony in regard to the character of J. W. Nye is 
from persons of the first respectability, and intimately acquainted with 
him in every place in which he has lived from eighteen years of age to 
the present time, and is presented in order to rebut the charges of 
dishonorable conduct made against him by the postmaster, one of 
which, had it been true, would have richly merited for him scorn and 
contempt of all honorable people — that of obtaining the carryall con- 
tract by fraud and deception, pretending that he had alivays been an 
ardent demo';rat, when, in fact, he had ahvays, until that Congress, 
been a whig — acted with the whigs — voted with the whigs ; and the 
only reason for admitting one word in regard to his politics into this 
publication has been to meet the above charge, which, members of 
Congress informed him, had been made against him by the postmaster ; 
though he had always, from principle, been a democrat, yet he had 
always entertained as much esteem and respect for a whig as for a 
democrat. This charge, as odious as it is, was not one tithe of the 
infamous charges which he was informed that the postmaster had 
recently made against him, and to such an extent that those persons 
not intimately acquainted with him considered him the most infamous 
of mankind ; and when the postmaster justified his conduct towards 
Nye before the Committee on Accounts in consequence of Nye's dis- 
honorable conduct, Nye pledged himself to the committee that if they 



46 J. W. NYE. 

would give the postmaster leave to do so, and he would prove one 
dishonorable act during his ivliole life, he would relinquish all further 
claim to the contract, and never again present himself before them. 
They granted the leave, and gave him one week to procure the testi- 
mony ; but he failed to find a solitary person by which he could prove 
one dishonorable act. 

J. W. NYE. 



No. 21. 

Alden^ Erie County, New York, 

November 22, 1848. 
I hereby certify that I was personally and intimately acquainted 
with the bearer hereof, Mr. J. W. Nye, from the year 1821 to 1829, 
when he left the county of Genesee and went to the south. Some 
time after our first acquaintance, Mr. Nye became a member of Byron 
Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, of which I was then a member. 
At our first annual election of officers, after Mr. Nye became a mem- 
ber of said lodge, he was elected secretary, and continued to hold that 
office and discharge the duties thereof to the entire satisfaction of the 
officers and brethren of said lodge, until he was preparing to leave that 
county, at which time I was myself elected secretary, in place of Mr. 
Nye. During the whole time Mr. Nye was a member of our lodge he 
was very punctual in attending all the meetings of the lodge, and very 
energetic in the discharge of all his duties as an officer thereof. At 
the time of Mr. Nye's leaving us, he was in good standing as a man 
and a mason, and as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church ; 
and received the unanimous vote of thanks of the lodge for his devo- 
tion to the institution of masonry, and his faithful services as an officer 
of said lodge ; and was presented with a diploma, free from ex{)ense, 
by the unanimous vote of the lodge, as a token of our esteem and 
respect. He was likewise punctual in the payment of his dues to said 
lodge, and was not in debt thereto when he left the place. During 
my acquaintance with Mr. Nye he was in good business, and a public 
surveyor, until the anti-masonic excitement in 1827, at which time he 
was thrown out of all public employment unless he would renounce 
masonry, which he refused to do. 

CYRUS GROUT. 



We the undersigned, inhabitants of Gsnesee county, do hereby cer- 
tify that we have been personally and intimately acquainted with Mr. 
J. W. Nye for many years previous to his residence in Washington, 
and during his visits to this section of the State during his residence 
in that city ; and we fully concur with Mr. Grout in all he has said of 
him in regard to his character and standing in society as a man, a 



J W. NYE. 47 

mason, and a member of the Methodist church, and that during our 
whole acquaintance with him he has been an ardent and warm advo- 
cate of the democratic measures, and of the democratic party. 

JEFFREY ROBE. 

CORNELIUS BARR.* 

WILLIAM SEAVER. 

J. S. BILLINGS. 

WILLIAM C. RAYMOND, t 

ELEAZER SOUTHWORTH. 

JOHN LAMBERTON. 



Washington City, December 1, 1848. 

I am personally acquainted with most of the signers to this paper, 
and know them all to be men of unquestionable integrity and respecta- 
bility. Dr. Billings is the postmaster at Pine Hill, in Grenesee county. 
Mr. Raymond a merchant in the same place. Mr. Robe, Mr. Lamber- 
ton, Mr. Barr, and Mr. South worth, also residents of the town of Elba, 
in which Mr. Nye formerly resided. Mr. Seaver is an old resident 
of Batavia, formerly the postmaster, and one of the delegates to the 
democratic national convention of 1844 ; he is highly respected as a 
man and a mason. 

My personal acquaintance with Mr. Nye sustains all that is stated 
by these gentlemen regarding him. 

THOMAS T. EVERETT, 
Examiner in the Patent Office, from Genesee county, New York. 

December 9, 1848. 
I am well acquainted with all the persons who have signed the 
above certificate, except Mr. Robe, and I fully concur in opinion with 
Doctor Everett as to the worth and integrity of character of each of 
them. 

H. PUTNAM. 
Member of Congress, Genesee county, New Yorh. 



No. 22. 

Washington, January 22, 1847. 

Dear Sir : Will you have the goodness to answer the following in- 
terrogatories, at the earliest convenient opportunities ? 

1. Are you acquainted with Mr. Frederick Follett, esq.,| of Batavia, 
Genesee county, New York, and Hon. John B. Skinner, of Middle- 
bury, Wyoming county. New York, one of the circuit judges? Also 
please state their standing in society ; their character for integrity 
and honor ; and whether the fullest confidence can be placed in any 
statements made by them for truth and veracity. 

* Nut a mason, and a thorough,icoiug whig, as well as Mi. Raymond ; the other sis 
thoroughgoing democrats, and in high standing as free and accepted masons. J. W. N. 
•j- Not being a mason, I have no knowledge of his standing in that society. W. 0. R. ' 
i At the recent election, elected canal commissioner of the State of New York. 



48 J. W. NYE. 

2. Did you, in 1840, as chairman of the central county committee 
of Alleghany county, receive from J. W, Nye a letter of recommenda- 
tion from the aforesaid gentlemen, recommending him to the chair- 
men of the central county committees of Alleghany, Cattaraugus, 
Chautauqne, Erie, Niagara, Orleans^ Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, 
Wayne, and Grenesee counties, as a man of honor and integrity, with 
whom they were well acquainted, having formerly resided among 
them, and that with tliem he had ih.e\v fullest confidence? 

Your answer to the ahove will much oblige your most obedient 
humble servant, 

J. W. NYE. 

Hon. Martin Grover, 

31. C. from Alle'gliany county. New TorJc. 

Answer — 1. lam acquainted with the gentlemen above named ; 
their character is of the best ; their integrity is above suspicion. 

2. I did receive such a circular at the time, and of the character 
above stated. 

Yours, truly, 

MAETIN GROVER. 
J. W. Nye, Esq. 



No. 23. 

Baltimore, February 21, 1849. 
In 1829 I became acquainted with several gentlemen from Genesee 
county. State of New York, who had taken large contracts on the 
Chesapeake and Ohio canal, between the Point of Rocks and the Mo- 
nocacy, Frederick county, Maryland. In the fall of 1829 they intro- 
duced to me Mr. J. W. Nye, from Genesee county, with whom they 
were well acquainted, and spoke of him as a gentleman of character 
and standing among them \^ also as a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. They also spoke of him as a public surveyor and 
teacher, and said Mr. Nye had suffered in his business there, because 
of the anti-masonic excitement in that county — Mr. Nye being a 
mason of high standing, and too honest to renounce. Mr. Nye was 
induced, at my request, to accept the situation of preceptor of the 
Three Springs Academy, in Frederick county, Maryland, and gave gen- 
eral satisfaction. His family came to reside among us, when Mr. Nye 
produced a letter, certifying to his being a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and united in the class of which I was at that time 
the leader. I always found Mr. Nye to be an industrious, moral, and 
upright man. 

S. R. WATERS. 



March 1, 1849. 

I have no personal knowledge of the character and standing of Mr. 
Nye ; but I have known the writer of the above for the last twenty-five 
years. Rev. S. R. Waters, whose signature is above, was for many 



J. W NYE, 49 

years a resident of this city, afterwards of Frederick county, Maryland, 
and now of Baltimore. He is a gentleman of most excellent charac- 
ter, and. all his statements are entitled, to the highest respect. 

C. A. DAVIS. 



No. 24. 

January 3, 1849. 

In 1830 I became acquainted with Mr. J. W. Nye, in Frederick 
county, Maryland, and in 18"»1 he and myself both left Maryland, and 
became residents of the city of Washington. Since which time, I have 
been personally and intimately acquainted with him most of the time, 
and have never known of any dishonest or dishonorable act of him 
whatever. In Maryland he was highly esteemed and respected. Since 
he has been in Washington he has met with severe misfortunes, and 
has been in very distressed and embarrassed circumstances. I have at 
all times put the most implicit confidence in his honesty and integrity. 
I have loaned him money in small amounts, and at different times, to 
the amount of, as near as I can recollect, several hundred dollars, with- 
out any writing or any security from him ivhatcver, except his loord ; 
and he has always returned it punctually and nonorahly. And I would 
at all times put the most implicit confidence in the truth of any state- 
ment made by him. In politics we have always differed ; while he has 
always been a warm and ardent democrat, I have alivays been a deci- 
ded whig. We have frequently conversed together on political sub- 
jects, and though differing with each other, it never lessened our 
trieuaship. And I never heard him express any unkind feelings to- 
wards any person in consequence of a difference of opinion, but always 
manifested as much esteem and respect for them, personally, who dif- 
fered with him in opinion, as those who agreed with him. I have 
never known him to express or show any vindictive feelings towards 
any who had injured him. I have always considered him as kind- 
hearted a man as I ever was acquainted with, and never knew him to 
deny any person any favor that was in his power to grant. His kind- 
ness and generosity he always, as I thought, carried to extremes. I 
am myselt a master mason, and have always considerered Mr. Nye as 
such myself. I have known of a great deal of ill-feeling towards Mr. 
Nye since 1840, but have not known of any, except on account of his 
politics. I have never known any person who got intimately acquainted 
with him express any unkind feelings towards him, or speak ill of 
him. And I never heard him utter an obscene or profane expression. 

JAMES DAVIS. 



No. 25. 

Washington, December 30, 1845. 

I have known Mr. J. W. Nye for several years, and from all I can 
learn of his character from sources entitled to the utmost reliance, it 

H. Rep. Com. 439 4 



50 J. W, NYE. 

is excellent for integrity and honesty. Mr. Nye is a man of intelli- 
gence ; and the late Mr. F. S. Key, who had much dealings with him, 
I have heard frequently speak of him in warm terms of interest and 
friendship. 

JAMES HOBAN, 
U. S. District Attorney for District of Columhia. 



No. 26. 
Testimony of C. L. Coltman. 



Washington, November 6, 1849. 

I hereby certify that I have been intimately acquainted with Mr. J. 
W. Nye since 1831, and I never knew him guilty of a dishonorable 
act. And I have the utmost confidence in his honesty and integrity, 
and would place the fullest confidence in the truth of any statement 
made by him. In 1832, while Mr. Nye was engaged in McAdamizing 
Pennsylvania avenue, he became indebted to me to a considerable 
amount, and when he completed said work, and failing to obtain i)ay- 
ment therefor, he was entirely broken down and ruined. Not seeing 
any prospect of his ever being able to pay me what he owed me, I 
gave up all hopes or expectation of ever obtaining it, and never took 
the trouble to call on him for \i or ask him for it. In 1839 he obtained 
an appropriation from Congress of some^ve or six thousand dollars for 
said work. And though his indebtedness to me was barred by the 
"statute of limitation," so that I had no legal claim against him, 
and the debt was by me forgotten, he immediately callect on me and 
paid me the full amount of his indebtedness to me, both principal and 
interest, though I was informed that he was not allowed any interest 
by Congress. And I further certify that his indebtedness to me was 
not for labor on the works, so that I could have claimed payment under 
the second section of the act which prohibited him from receiving any 
pay until the laborers on the works were paid. 

C. L. COLTMAN. 



No. 27. 
Testimony of William Bird. 



Washington, December 17, 1845. 

I hereby certify that I have been personally acquainted with J. W. 
Nye during the last fourteen years. In 1832 and 1833, while per- 
forming a large amount of work on Pennsylvania avenue, he became 
indebted to me to a large amount, which, when he completed said work, 



J. W. NYE. 



n 



from not getting his pay therefor he was unahle to pay. A number 
of years alterwards he obtained an appropriation from Congress when 
he immediately called on me and paid me the whole amount of his 
indebtedness to me, hoth principal and interest, though barred by the 
slatuteof limitation. In all my dealings and intercourse with Mr. 
Nye I have found him strictly honest and honorable as far as he has 

bad the means to do with. 

WILLIAM BIRD. 

I hereby certify that the above indebtedness of Mr. Nye to me was 
not for labor on the works, but for goods and merchandise at my 

store while doing that work. 

WILLIAM BIRD. 



No. 28. 

Testimony of Messrs. White & Brother 

Washington, December 15, 1845. 
We have been personally acquainted with Mr. J. W. Nye during 
the last fourteen years, and during that time have had dealings with 
him to the amount of several thousand dollars. In 1832 and 18r»3 
he became deeply involved in consequence of doing a large amount of 
work on Pennsylvania avenue, and not getting his pay therefor. At 
the close of that work he raised from us a considerable amount to pay 
his laborers on said work, and gave us for security a mortgage on his 
furniture and some other property. During the following year his 
house and all his effects were consumed by fire, which left us without 
security, and himself destitute of any means of payment. Some six or 
seven years after he obtained an appropriation from Congress He 
immediately called on us and paid us the full amount of his indebted- 
ness, both principal and interest ; and we were informed that he looked 
up all his old debts for doing that work, though barred by the statute 
of limitations, and paid them in full, both principal and interest. In 
all our dealings with Mr. Nye we have found him honest and honor- 
able, and of the most persevering and industrious business habits. 

WHITE & BROTHER. 



No. 29. 
Certificate of Mr. J. C. Harkness. 

To all whom it may concern : 

The bearer, Mr. J. W. Nye, has been personally known to the 
undersigned for several years, in which time I have had frequent 
business transactions with him, and although generally laboring under 
circumstances of great embarrassment, well calculated to make most 
men prevaricate, when the demand was against them, yet, in every 



52 J. W, NYE. 

instance, I found Mr. Nye truthful to a degree whicli revealed to my 
mind great integrity and a rare love for the truth. 

Mr Nye is a well educated man, qualified for a clerkship in any of 
the departments ; yet from the force of circumstance, rather than let 
his most estimable family suffer, he has sought laboring work, and 
from me frequently obtained employment. I always found him 
perfectly sober, honest, industrious, and in every respect reliable. 

JOHN C. HARKNESS. 

April 27, 1853. 



No 30. 
Certijicate of Mr , Thy son. 



Washington, May 20, 1856. 
I hereby certify that I have been personally acquainted with Mr. 
J. W. Nye some fifteen years ; that during that time he has dealt 
with me to a large amount ; during the last five years he has been 
engaged in building and repairing buildings, and has obtained his 
hardw^are and other materials therefor from us, on a credit, promising 
to pay when he obtained his pay for the work, and he has been very 
punctual in the fulfilment of his promises, by paying us as soon as he 
received his pay. A number of times when he came to settle his bills 
he found that he had received articles, sometimes to the amount of 
several dollars, which, in our hurry in waiting on customers, we had 
forgotten to charge to him, which he was careful to point out to us and 
to pay the same ; yet he has never pointed out any mistake made by 
us in our ow^n favor, and against him. In all my transactions with 
him I have found him strictly honest and honorable, and I would, 
at all times, put the most implicit confidence in the truth of any 
statement made by him. 

PAULUS THYSON, 
Grocer and Hardware Merchant, No. 393, ^th street. 



No. 31. 
Certificate of Mr. Toivles. 



Washington, May 20, 1856. 

I hereby certify that I have been personally and intimately ac- 
quainted with Mr. J. W. Nye for a number of years. He has been 
roost of the time during the last five years, when his health would 
permit, in my employment, making or repairing buildings ; I have 
found him very industrious, and in every respect trustworthy ; he has 
likewise been my tenant, and I have always found him strictly honest 
and honorable, and I have always put the most implicite confidence 
in the truth of any statement made by him. 

JAMES TOWLES, Property Agent. 



35th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
2d Session. \ 1 No. 182. 



WILLIAM H. DE GROOT. 

[To accompanj' Joint Resolution H. E. No. 53.] 



Feeruauy 13, 1859.— Ordered to le printed. 



Mr. Burnett, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia^ to lohom was referred the 
memorial of William H. De Groot, praying to he indemnified for hi^ 
losses and dametge>i, and to have refunded to him the amount of his 
expenditures (less the amount paid to him by the government J incurred 
by him as the assignee of the contract for furnishing brick for the 
Wabhington Aqueduct, report: 

That they have examined the claim of the memorialist and the evi- 
dence adduced in its support. 

It a[)pears that on the 23d of January, 18.54, William H. Dego;sand 
Francis H. Smith entered into a contract with Montgomery C. Meigs, 
acting for and on behalf of the United States, by which they agreed 
to lurnish the latter with not more than forty million nor less than 
twenty-five million of bricks, at the rate of $3 75 per thousand, to be 
used in building the Washington Aqueduct. For the faithful per- 
formance of the contract by Deggs & Smith, Columbus Alexander and 
Alexander H. Mechlin became sureties. Deggs & Smith failed in the 
performance of their contract, and Mechlin and Alexander undertook 
to carry it out in their stead. The substitution of Mechlin & Alex- 
ander for Deggs & Smith having been accepted by the United States, 
they became the legal parties to the contract which was subsequently 
prosecuted in their names. 

On the 9th of May, 1855, an agreement was concluded between 
William H. De Groot, the memorialist, and Mechlin & Alexander, by 
which the former undertook the execution of the contract on the same 
terms and conditions, in all respects, as it had been originally undei- 
takeu by Deggs & Smith ; the memorialist receiving, at the same 
time, a power of attorney from Mechlin & Alexander, authorizing 
him to do and perform everything required by the contract. He was 
to receive payment for the brick delivered, and to act in all respects 
in their stead, as fully as if he had been the legal party to the con- 



Z WILLIAM n. DE GROOT. 

tract. All this was done with the knowledge and consent of Captain 
Meigs, the agent of the United States, who always thereafter treated 
witn the memorialist on the same footing as if he had been the origi- 
nal contractor. 

In pursuance of the agreement with Mechlin & Alexander, the 
memorialist applied himself immediattly to prepare for the execution 
of the contract, by purchasing land for clay and wood; machines for 
moulding brick; boats, carts, wagons; horses and mules for transporting 
thetn ; building extensive houses for the accommodation of the work- 
men ; kilns, sheds and roads; making yards, providing tools, hiring 
hands, and doing everything necessary to enable him to prosecute the 
work in a manner satisfactory to the government. It also appears that 
Deggs & (Smith, the original contractors, having /ailed to furnish any- 
brick, or to provide in any way for the execution of their contract, it 
became necessary for the memorialist to furnish a considerable num- 
ber before it was practicable to manufacture them himself, in order that 
the work might not be delayed. This he did without murmuring, 
though at the loss of all the profits which he would have realized had 
he been permitted to wait until he could manufacture them himself. 

It apj)ears from the evidence furnished to the committee that a 
kiln ot 800,000 brick, made after he had completed his arrangements 
ibr the prosecution of his contract, cost, when delivered on the line of 
the Avork, .$1,575, and thnt these brick were worth, at the contract 
price, $2,625 ; showing a profit to the contractor exceeding $3 50 per 
thousand. 

It also appears from the testimony that, in the purchase of land, 
wood, boats, wagons, horses, machinery, and tools ; building houses 
and brick kilns ; in making yards, roads, <Src , ])reparatory to the 
execution of his contract, and in the purchase and transportation of 
brick which his predecessors had failed to provide for, the memorialist 
had expended the sum of $63,805 34, and that he was prepared to 
prosecute the work which he had undertaken as rapidly, and even 
more rapidly, than was required by the government superintendent; 
and that his profits would not only have been remunerative, but large 
and likely to increase, as the operations at the yard and in the trans- 
portation of the brick became more systematic. 

At this period, about the first of October, 1855, the memorialist, 
as has been shown, was fully prepared to proceed in the execution of 
his contract, (everything having been provided to enable him to do so 
to the best advantage Ibr his own interest as well as to the satisfac- 
tion of the government,) and continued to perform the same until the 
contract was virtually terminated by the United States, through the 
refusal of Congress to make any further ai)i)ropriation for carrying 
on the woik, and no complaint was made in relation to the manner 
in which the contract was ])erformed by the memorialist. 

That the contract of the memorialist had been executed with 
fidelity and to the entire satisfaction of the government is shown by 
the report of Captain Meigs of the 11th of April, 1856. In this he 
says cf the contractors, Ue Groot & Darling: "They are waiting 
orders, and they do not know whether they should make 100^000 or 
15,000,0110 of bricks for the season's use." 



WILLIAM II. DE GROOT. 6 

As further proof of the faithful and satisfactory performance of the 
contract of the memorialist, it appears that at the time the work was 
stopped by the government there were 418,544 brick unused on the 
line of the work, and 800,000 in the kilns ready for delivery. But 
there is, however, no allegation of any default or failure on the part 
of the memorialist in the manner in which his contract was executed. 
On the contrary, it appears that the moment the contract was 
assigned to him by Mechlin & Alexander he set vigorously to work 
to prepare for its execution, and that at the time it was terminated 
by the government he was prepared to prosecute it in the most 
approved and systematic manner. He was provided with everything 
necessary — with land for clay, with steam engines, machines for 
moulding, kilns for burning, yards for drying, houses for the accom- 
modation ot the workmen, roads, boats, carts, wagons, and animals 
for transportation, workmen — in short, with everything necessary to 
enable h:m to afford satisfaction to the government and to make his 
contract profitable to himself. 

The lurther prosecution of the contract was ended by the failure of 
Congress to make an appropriation to carry on the work, and the 
large, expensive, and necessary preparations made by the memorialist 
for prosecuting the contract were rendered abortive, and the property 
thrown upon his hands before he had realized any profit. 

" Resolved by the Soiate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall settle and adjust with all the parties respectively in- 
terested therein, on principles of justice and equity, all damages, 
losses, and liabilities incurred or sustained by said parties, respectively, 
on account of their contract for manufacturing brick for the Wash- 
ington Aqueduct ; and he is hereby directed to pay the amount found 
due by such settlement and adjustment out of the appropriation made 
for paying the liabilities for the said aqueduct by the act making 
appropriations for certain civil expenses of the government for the 
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, approved 
the eighteenth of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-six : Provided, 
That the said parties first surrender to the United IStates all the brick 
made, together with all the machinery and appliances, and other per- 
sonal property prepared for executing the said contract, and that the 
said contract be cancelled. 

" Approved March 3, 1857." 

The memorialist, under said resolution, surrendered to the United 
States all the brick then made, together with all the machinery, ap- 
pliances, and property therein referred to, under the supposition that 
he would be fully indemnifiv^d under said resolution. 

At the time the contract was stopped the whole amount of expendi- 
tures of the memoiialist, as appears from the proved vouchers which 
accompany his petition, was, exclusive of interest, his own time, and 
the sum paid to his temporary partner, D. S. Darling, $64,081) 34 ; 
the amount received by him $18,074 85. He subsequently received 
the sum of $7,576, out of the amount awarded by the Secretary of the 
Treasury to Mechlin & Alexander, under the joint resolution of the 
3d March, 1857. 



4 WILLIAM II. DE GROOT. 

Thu8 it appears that, without reference to loss of time, profits, and 
damages, and independent of the sum paid to his temporary partner, 
who reassigned to the memorial if^t the whole of his interest io the 
contract, and the numerous personal and other expenses inseparahle 
from the ])rosecution of the contract in the first {)lace, and his claim 
for indemnity in the second, the memorialist has expended in money, 
over and above the amount received, the sum of $39,429 49. 

The committee are not unaware that, by the original agreement, 
the contractor was to take the risk of a failure of appropriation. But 
it will hardly he contended, even if the question of a right to in- 
demnity on the part of the memorialist had not been settled by 
the act of August 18, 1850, and the joint resolution of March 3, 
1857, that the government, after contracting with the memorialist 
for so large a supply of brick, and requiring him to prepare for the 
execution of his contract in such a manner as to be able to make 
and deliver 60,000 brick a day, involving an expenditure of over 
$f.0,000 before a single brick could bemade and delivered under the con- 
tract, might, through caprice or whim, without some overruling ne- 
cessity, stop the work to the ruin of the contractor. It could never 
have been the intention of the parties that the government might 
wantonly stop the work contemplated by the contract, after inducing 
the contractor to prepare for its execution by the expenditure of large 
outlays of money. Such a construction would be totally repugnant 
to every principle of equity and justice. The true construction of 
the contract undoubtedly is, that any accidental failure of appropria- 
tion should be at the risk of the contractor, liut it was never in- 
tended that after the memorialist had incurred an expense of many 
thousands of dollars in preparing to execute the contract in a man- 
ner commensurate with the views and instructions of its superinten- 
dent, the government should terminate it without excuse, and after- 
wards take possession of the property and improvements of the con- 
tractor without fully indemnifying him both for his outlays and loss 
of ])rofits. Anything short of this would be unjust. 

But the question ol right on the ])art of the memorialist to full 
indemnity the committee understand to have been settled by the 
joint resolution of March 3, 1857. That resolution, as will be ob- 
served, directs "that the Secretary of the Treasury shall settle and 
adjust with all the parties respectively interested therein, on principles 
of justice and equity, all damages, losses, and Uabiliiies incurred or 
sustained by said parties, respectively, on account of the contiact for 
manufacturing brick for the Washington Aqueduct." Nothing can 
be broader or more explicit than this resolution. It provides that all 
the parties interested in the contract shall bo sittled with ; not merely 
the legal parties, but the parties interested in and " on account" of the 
contract. This language could have been used for no other purpose 
than to give to the equitable party, or paity to whom the contract has 
been assigned, a right to his proper share of the indemniy, provided, 
as Congress supposed, by the resolution. In other words, it was to 
give to the memorialist a legal claim to such " dama<res, losses, and 
liabilitiis" as he had "incurred or sustained on account of the said 
contract." 



WILLIAM H. DE GROOT. 5 

By directino: the Secretary to settle and adjust " the damages, losses, 
and liabilities" incurred or sustained b}' the parties respectively, Con- 
gress intended, as the committee believe, to indemnify the memorialist, 
and all others who had sustained injury, against all losses, "whether 
arising from the actual expenditure of money, deprivation of profits, 
or damages which they might have sustained in their business, or by 
reason of having their property and improvements thrown upon their 
hands. The words "damages, losses, and liabilities," as well by 
ordinary import as by judicial interpretation, imply that the party 
who is to be settled with on account of having incurred or sustained 
them shall have the amplest satisfaction. These words embrace un- 
satisfied expenditures, damages and profits ; and under a proper con- 
struction of the resolution the Secretary of the Treasury would have 
allowed the memorialist not only for the amount of his expenditures, 
over and above his receipts, but also such fair profits as the contract 
would have yielded, together with the damages he may have sustained 
by the interruption of his business, &c. The language of the resolu- 
tion is susceptible of no other meaning. 

But from the report of the Secretary, or rather his award made in 
pursuance of the joint resolution, it appears that the memorialist was 
allowed neither expenditures, profits, nor damages. He was excluded 
on the ground that he was not a legal party to the contract, and could 
not therefore be recognized as one of the parties who had a right to 
claim under the joint resolution. The memorialist was not a party to 
the original ^contract, but was accepted by the agent of the govern- 
ment as the assignee, and was thus a legal party under the resolution. 
and had a just claim to indemnity under it. 

Having once decided that the memorialist had no right to indemnity 
under the resolution, his decision, judging from the evidence before 
the committee, was entirely correct ; for neither Deggs & Smith, nor 
Mechlin & Alexander, sustained any damage, loss, or liabilities which 
the government was bound to make good. Deggs & Smith never 
suffered any interruption in the performance of their contract. Indeed, 
there is no evidence that they ever attempted to execute it. Mechlin 
and Alexander were mere sureties for the faithful performance of the 
contrast of Deggs & Smith ; but they assigned it to De Groot, the 
memorialist, and never incurred any liability, nor sustained any loss, 
and could not, therefore, justly claim an allowance for losses, liabilities 
or damages under the resolution. 

It seems that a Mr. Kellogg presented a claim, arising after the 
work had been virtually stopped, and received a portion of the sum 
awarded by the Secretary of the Treasury under the resolution of 
March 3, 1857 ; but inasmuch as there is no connexion between him 
and the present claimant, the committee have not thought it necessary 
to inquire further than to ascertain that fact. 

But the position of the memorialist is different from that of the 
parties to whom reference has been made. He became a party to the 
contract at a period long anterior to the stoppage of the work ; he 
expended, as ap])ears, large sums in the purchase of land, engines, 
machinery, wood, and all the necessary apparatus and fixtures for 
carrying on the contract; he built houses and brick kilns, made yards. 



tr WILLIAM n. DE GROOT. 

roads, and other improvements, and did everything required to enable 
him to execute his contract with promptitude and despatch. After 
having done all this^ at a large expenditure of money, and having 
proved his ability to carry out his contract in a manner satisfactory 
to the government and profitable to himself, the work was stopped, 
not through any default of his, but by the order of the superintendent. 
Under such circumstances can it be pretended that he was not entitled 
to indemnity, and to such an indemnity as would embrace not only 
the expenditures he had made, but likewise damages sustained ? 

From this review of the case of the memorialist it would seem that 
recognized principles of equity and justice require that these amounts 
should be refunded to him; and these principles are powerfully sus- 
tained by the facts that all the property and improvements purchased 
and provided by the memorialist, at the expense of this large outlay 
of money, now belong to the government, having been conveyed to it 
in pursuance of the joint resolution of March 3, 1857. The govern- 
ment cannot take the memorialist's })roperty and enjoy the fruits of 
his labor without fully indemnifying him therefor. 

But this is not all. The memorialist has as much right in equity 
and justice to damages for his losses, and satisfaction for the benefit 
which he would naturally have derived from his property and labor, 
as to compensation for his actual expenditures. The committee re- 
gard this as a well established principle of law and equity. The joint 
resolution of March 3, 1857, intended to provide for a full indemnity, 
but the Secretary of the Treasury having construed it otherwise, the 
committee recommend the passage of a joint resolution to meet the 
prayer of the memorialist for such expenditures as he has made in 
the fair prosecution of his contract, over and above the amount he has 
received, and also for the damages he has sustained. The committee 
have retrained from fixing the amount, and submit the decision in re- 
lation thereto to the First Auditor of the Treasury. 



35th Congress, ? HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
2d Session. S f No. 211. 



NEW JAIL IN WASHINGTON COUNTY", DISTRICT OF 

COLUMBIA. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 899.] 



March 3, 1859.— Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Morgan, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, having had under 
consideration the expediency/ of erecting a new jail for the District of 
Columbia, respectfully report : 

That the present jail is in every way unsuited for the purposes of a 
prison. Owing to the bad material used in its construction, and to 
unskilful workmanship, it is insecure ; from imperfect ventilation, it 
is liable to dangerous, contagious diseases ; from bad arrangement, it 
is extremely difficult to subject the prisoners to the necessary police 
and discipline ; and the necessity of confining almost constantly 
within its walls a much larger number of prisoners than it was de- 
signed to accommodate, prevents the possibility of separating the 
young from the confirmed and most degraded criminals, and even 
compels innocent persons, detained merely to secure their presence as 
witnesses before the criminal court, to share common cells and corri- 
dors with convicts. The committee further report that the location of 
the jail is in the midst of the population of the city and upon one of 
the finest of the public squares, surrounded by churches and by the 
dwellings of worthy citizens, whose women and children are constantly 
insulted by the indecent words and ribald songs of the prisoners. 
These facts, which have been repeatedly represented by grand juries 
of the District of Columbia to the criminal court, by most respectable 
citizens in memorials to the executive department and to Congress, by 
the Commissioner of Public Buildings in his official reports, and by 
the published letter (accompanying the Commissioner's last annual 
report) of the United States marshal for the District of Columbia, 
have been confirmed by the personal observation and inspection of 
congressional committees, and are minutely set forth in the papers 
which your committee submit with this report. 

The power to remedy this great evil is in the general government 
alone, and, in the judgment of your committee, it is a power which it 
is the duty of the government to exercise without delay. 



2 NEW JAIL IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Congress, by act of August 18, 1856, directed the Secretary of 
the Interior to cause to be prepared drawings and specifications for a 
new jail, together with estimates of the cost of building the same, on 
a site prescribed by the act ; and that officer, with his annual report 
dated November 29, 1856, submitted the drawings, specifications, and 
estimates called for, but at the same time submitted conclusive objec- 
tions to the site prescribed. Your committee are informed by the 
Commissioner of Public Buildings that the government now own 
grounds in the city of ample area for the construction of a jail upon 
the plan submitted by the Secretary of the Interior, and in locality, 
foundation, and advantage of drainage, well adapted for such purpose. 
Your committee therefore recommend the erection of a new jail in the 
city of Washington, according to the general plan submitted by the 
Secretary of the Interior with his report of November 29, 1856, and 
upon such site, now the property of the United States, as that officer 
may select; and for that purpose they report a bill. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ ) No. 66. 



UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 213.] 



March 7, 1860. 



Mr. Burnett, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

Tlie Committee for the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the 
petition of William W. Corcoran, Benjamin B. French, B, Ogle 
Tayloe, Ben Perley Poore, and John A. Srnith, praying for incor- 
poration as "■ The United States Agricultural Society," have had the 
same under consideration, and beg leave to report : 

That the United States Agricultural Society was organized at Wash- 
ington in 1851, at a convention of delegates from State agricultural 
societies, and has since held its annual meetings here, where it has 
a business office, library, and reading room. 

The organization is upon the basis recommended by President 
Washington in his last message to Congress, December 7, 1796, and 
favorably reported on by a select committee of the House ot Repre- 
sentatives a few days afterwards, except that it is sustained by private 
contributions instead of from the public treasury. 

The objects of the society, as declared by the preamble to its con- 
stitution, are, to "improve the agriculture of the country, by attract- 
ing attention, eliciting the views and confirming the efforts of that 
great class composing the agricultural community, and to secure the 
advantages of a better organization and more extended usefulness 
among all State, county, and other agricultural societies." 

On the roll of its members are to be found the names of many of 
the most distinguished men in the country, as well as of the best 
practical cultivators of the soil and breeders of stock. Every State 
is represented. 

Since its organization, the society has published eight annual 
volumes of reports, and has held eight exhibitions in different sec- 
tions of tlie country, at which upwards of one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars have been distributed in premiums. Nearly one hundred 
thousand dollars have been expended in preparing the grounds for, 
and defraying the other expenses of, these exhibitions. 



2 UNITED STATES AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 

While some two hundred and fifty thousand dollars have thus been 
disbursed by the society, it has only retained enough to defray its 
current expenses. The amount now in its treasury is five thousand 
two hundred dollars ; the total amount of the salaries paid its officers 
is eleven hundred dollars. 

This large sum of money has been received and paid out without 
any legal security, and on one occasion the whole available funds of 
the society were placed in a hazardous position by the stoppage of a 
bank in which they had been deposited, and only recovered after a 
year's legal proceedings and at considerable expense. 

Contracts connected with the exhibitions have been violated without 
redress. Bonds cannot be exacted from officers of the society for the 
faithful performance of their duties. Gentlemen who stand ready to 
endow the society with a building and a publication fund await a 
legalization of their donations. 

For these, and for other reasons, the committee believe that the 
"United States Agricultural Society" should have a legal existence, 
and approve of the act of incorporation desired by the petitioners, 
which appears to be intended solely for guarding the interests of the 
society, and not so worded as to be used for any other purposes. 

The committee therefore report the accompanying bill, and recom- 
mend its passage. 



36th Congress, > HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ / No. 103. 



WILLIAM H. DE GROOT. 

[To accompany Joint Resolution H. R. No. 17.] 

March 19, 18G0. 



Mr. BuRNETT_, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, to lohom was referred the 
memorial of William H. De Groot, praying to he indemnified for his 
losses and damages, and to have refunded to him it,e amount of his 
expenditures (less the amount paid to him hy the government) incurred 
hy him as the assignee of the contract for furnishing hricTcfor the 
Washington aqueduct, report : 

That they have examined the claim of the memorialist and the evi- 
dence adduced in its support. 

It appears that on the 23d of January, 1854, William H. Deggsand 
Francis H. Smith entered into a contract with Montgomery C. Meigs, 
acting for and on behalf of the United States, by which they agreed 
to furnish the latter with not more than forty million nor less than 
twenty-five million of bricks, at the rate of $8 75 per thousand, to be 
used in building the Washington aqueduct. For the faithful per- 
formance of the contract by Deggs & Smith, Columbus Alexander and 
Alexander H. Mechlin became sureties. Deggs & Smith failed in the 
performance of their contract and Mechlin and Alexander undertook 
to carry it out in their stead. The substitution of Mechlin & Alex- 
ander for Deggs & Smith having been accepted by the United States, 
they became the legal parties to the contract which was subsequently 
prosecuted in their names. 

On the 9th of May, 1855, an agreement was concluded between 
William H. De Groot, the memorialist, and Mechlin & Alexander, by 
which the former undertook the execution of the contract on the same 
terms and conditions, in all respects, as it had been originally under- 
taken by Deggs & Smith ; the memorialist receiving, at the same 
time^ a power of attorney from Mechlin & Alexander, authorizing 
him to do and perform everything required by the contract. He was 
to receive payment for the brick delivered, and to act in all respects 
in their stead, as fully as if he had been the legal party to the con- 
tract. All this was done with the knowledge and consent of Captain 



2 WILLIAM H. DE GROOT. 

Meigs, the ngent of the United States, who always thereafter treated 
with tlie memorialist on the same footing as if he had been the origi- 
nal (ontractor. 

In pursuance of the agreement witli Mechlin &: Alexander, the 
memorialist applied himself immediately to prepare for the execution 
of the contract, by purchasing land for clay and wood ; machines for 
moulding brick; boats, carts, wagons; horses and mulesfortrans{)orting 
them; buihling extensive houses for the accommodation of the work- 
men ; kilns, sheds and roads ; making yards, providing tools, hiring 
hands, and doing everything necessary to enable him to prosecute the 
work in a manner satisfactory to the goverment. It also appears that 
Deggs & Smith, the original contractors, having failed to furnish any 
brick, or to provide in any way for the execution of their contract, it 
became necessary ibr the memorialis to furnish a considerable num- 
ber before it was practicable to manufacture them himself, in order that 
the work might not be delayed. This he did without murmuring, 
though at the loss of all the profits which he would have realized had 
he been premitted to wait until he could manufacture them himself. 

It ap])ears from the evidence furnished to the committee that a 
kiln of 300,000 brick, made after he had completed his arrangements 
for the prosecution of his contract, cost, wlien delivered on the line of 
the work, $1,575, and that these brick were worth, at tlie^contract 
price, $2,025 ; showing a profit to the contractor exceeding $3 50 per 
thousand. 

It also appears from the testimony that, in the purchase of land, 
wood, boats, wagons, horses, machinery, and tools ; buihling houses 
and brick kilns ; in making yards, roads, &c., pre])aratory to the 
execution of his contract, and in the purchase and transportation of 
brick which his predecessors had failed to provide for, the memorialist 
had expended the sum of $67,987 18, and that he was prepared to 
prosecute the work which he had undertaken as rapidly, and even 
more rapidly, than was retjuired by the government superintendent; 
and that his profits would not only have been remunerative, but large 
and likely to increase, as the operations at the yard and in the trans- 
portation of the brick became more systematic. 

At this period, about the first of October, 1855, the memorialist, 
as has been shown, was fully prepared to proceed in the execution of 
his contract, (everything having been provided to enable him to do so 
to the best advantage for his own interest as well as to the satisfac- 
tion of the government,) and continued to perform the same until the 
contract was virtually terminated by tlie United States, through the 
refusal of Congress to make any further appropriation for carrying 
on the work, and no complaint was made in relation to the manner 
in which the contract was performed by the memorialist. 

That the contract of the memorialist had been executed with 
fidelity and to the entire satisfation of the government is sliown by 
the report of Captain Meigs of the 11th of April, 185G. In this ho 
fays of the contractors, De Groot & Darling : "They are waiting 
orders, and they do not know whether they should make 100,000 or 
15,000,000 of bricks for the season's use." 

As further proof of the faithful and satisfactory performance of the 



WILLIAM n. DE GROOT. O 

contract of the memorialist, it .appears that at the time the work was 
8top[)ed hy the government there were 418,544 brick unused on the 
line of the work, and 300,000 in the kilns ready for delivery. But 
there is, however, no allegation of any default or failure on the part 
of the memorialist in the manner in which his contract was executed. 
On the contrary, it appears that the moment the contract was assigned 
to him by Mechlin & Alexander he set vigorously to work to prepare 
for its execution, and that at the time it was terminated by the gov- 
ernment he was prepared to prosecute it in the most approved and 
systematic manner. lie was provided with everything necessary — 
with land for clay, with steam engines, machines for moulding, kilns 
for burning, yards for drying, houses for the accommodation of the 
workmen, roads, boats, carts, wagons, and animals for transportation, 
workmen — in short, with everything necessary to enable him to afford 
satisfaction to the government and to make his contract profitable to 
himself. 

The further prosecution of the contract was ended by the failure of 
Congress to make an appropriation to carry on the work, and the 
large, expensive, and necessary preparations made by the memorialist 
for prosecuting the contract were rendered abortive, and tlie property 
thrown upon his hands before he had realized any profit. 

" liesolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall settle and adjust with all the parties respectively in- 
terested therein, on principles of justice and equity, all damages, 
losses, and liabilities incurred or suBtained by said parties, respectively, 
on account of their contract for manufacturing brick for the Wash- 
ington aqueduct ; and he is hereby directed to pay the amount found 
due by such settlement and adjustment out of the appropriation made 
for paying the liabilities for the said aqueduct by the act making 
appropriations for certain civil expenses of the government for the 
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fitty-seven, approved 
the eighteenth of August, eighteen hundred and fifty-six : Provided, 
That the said parties first surrender to the United States all the brick 
made, together with all the machinery and appliances, and other per- 
sonal property prepared for executing the said contract, and that the 
said contract be cancelled. 

*' Approved March 3, 1857." 

The memorialist, under said resolution, surrendered to the United 
States all the brick then made, together with all the machinery, ap- 
pliances, and ])roperty therein referred to, under the supposition that 
he would be fully indemnified under said resolution. 

At the time the contract was stopped the whole amount of expendi- 
tures of the memorialist, as appears from the proved vouchers which 
accompany his petition, was, exclusive of interest, his own time, and 
the sum paid to his temporary partner, D. S. Darling, $G7,1)H7 18 
tlie amount received by him $18,074 85. He subsequently received 
the sum of $7,576, out of the amount awarded by the Secretary of the 
Treasury to Mechlin & Alexander, under the joint resolution of the 
.3d March, 1857. 

Thus it appears that, without reference to loss of time, profits, and 



4 WILLIAM H. DE GROOT. 

damages, and independent of the sum paid to his temporary partner, 
who reassigned to the memorialist the whole of his interest in the 
contract, and the numerous personal and other expenses inseparable 
from the prosecution of the contract in the first place, and his claim 
for indemnity in the second, the memorialist has expended in money, 
over and above the amount received, the sum of $42,336 33. 

The committee are not unaware that, by the original agreement, 
the contractor was to take tlie risk of a failure of appropriation. But 
it will hardly be contended, even if the question of a right to in- 
demnity on the part of the memorialist had not been settled by the 
act of August 18, 185G, and the joint resolution of March 3, 1857, 
that tlie government, after contracting with the memorialist for so 
large a supply of brick, and requiring him to prepare for the executioa 
of his contract in such a manner as to be able to make and deliver 
60,000 brick a day, involving an expenditure of over $60,000 before 
a single brick could be made and delivered under the contract, might, 
through caprice or whim, without some overruling necessity, stop the 
work to the ruin of the contractor. It could never have been the in- 
tention of the parties that the government might wantonly stop the 
work contemplated by the contract, after inducing the contractor to 
prepare for its execution by the expenditure of large outlays of money. 
Such a construction would be totally repugnant to every principle of 
equity and justice. The true construction of the contract undoubt- 
edly is, that any accidental failure of appropriation should be at the- 
risk of tbe contractor. But it was never intended that after the me- 
morialist had incurred an expense of many thousands of dollars in 
preparing to execute the contract in a manner commensurate with the 
views and instructions of its superintendent-, the government should 
terminate it without excuse, and afterwards taking possession of the 
property and improvements of the contractor without fully indemni- 
fying him both ior his outlays and loss of profits. Anything short of 
this would be unjust. 

But the question of right on the part of the memorialist to full 
indemnity the committee understand to have been settled by the joint 
resolution of March 3, 1857. That resolution, as will be observed, 
directs "that the Secretary of the Treasury shall settle and adjust, 
with all the parlies respectively intei'ested therein, on principles of 
justice and equity, all damages, losses and Uahililies incurred or sus- 
tained by said parties, respectively, on account of the contract for 
manufacturing brick for the Washington aqueduct." Nothing can 
be broader or more explicit than this resolution. It provides that all 
the parties interested in the contract shall be settled with ; not merely 
the legal parties, but the parties interested in and " on account" of the 
contract. This language could have been used for no other purpose 
than to give to the equitable party, or party to whom the contract has 
been assigned, a right to his proper share of the indemnity, provided, 
as Congress supposed, by the resolution. In other words, it was to 
give to the memorialist a legal claim to such " damages, losses, and 
liabilities" as he had "incurred or sustained on account of the said 
contract." 

By directing the Secretary to settle and adjust " the damages, losses, 



^VILLIAM n. DE GROOT. 5 

and liabilities" incurred or sustained by the parties respectively, Con- 
gress intended^ as the committee believe, to indemnify the memorialist, 
and all others who had sustained injury, against all losses, v^hether 
arising from the actual expenditure of money, deprivation of profits, 
or damages which they might have sustained in their business, or by 
reason of having their property and improvements thrown upon their 
hands. The words "damages, losses, and liabilities," as well by 
ordinary import as by judicial interpretation, imply that the party 
who is to be settled with on account of having incurred or sustained 
them shall have the amplest satisfaction. These words embrace un- 
satisfied expenditures, damages and pofits ; and under a proper con- 
struction of the resolution the Secretary of the Treasury would have 
allowed the memorialist not only for the amount of his expenditures, 
over and above his receipts, but also such fair profits as the contract 
would have yielded, together with the damages he may have sustained 
by the interruption of his business, &c. The language of the resolu- 
tion is susceptible of no other meaning. 

But from the report of the Secretary, or rather his award made in 
pursuance of the joint resolution, it appears that the memorialist was 
allowed neither expenditures, profits, nor damages. He was excluded 
on the ground that he was not a legal party to the contract, and could 
not therefore be recognized as one of the parties who had a right to 
claim under the joint resolution. The memorialist was not a party to 
the original contract, but was accepted by the agent of the govern- 
ment as the assignee, and was thus a legal party under the resolution, 
and had a just claim to indemnity under it. 

Having once decided that the memorialist had no right to indemnity 
under the resolution, his decision, judging from the evidence before 
the committee, was entirely correct ; for neither Deggs & Smith, nor 
Mechlin & Alexander, sustained any damage, loss, or liabilities which 
the government was bound to make good, l^eggs & Smith never suf- 
fered any interruption in the performance of their contract. Indeed, 
there is no evidence that they ever attempted to execute it, Mechlin 
and Alexander were mere sureties for the faithful performance ot the 
contract of Deggs and Smith ; but they assigned it to De Groot, the 
memorialist, and never incurred any liability, nor sustained any loss, 
and could not, therefore, justly claim an allowance for losses, liabilities 
or damages under the resolution. 

It seems that a Mr. Kellogg presented a claim, arising after the 
work had been virtually stopped, and received a portion of the sura 
awarded by the Secretary of the Treasury under the resolution of 
March 3, 1857; but inasmuch as there is no connexion between him 
and the present claimant, the committee have not thought it necesssary 
to inquire further than to ascertain that fact. 

But the position of the memorialist is different from that of the 
parties to whom reference has been made. He became a party to the 
contract at a period long anterior to the stoppage of the work ; he 
expended, as appears^ large sums in the purchase of land, engines, 
machinery, wood, and all the necessary apparatus and fixtures for 
carrying on the contract ; he built houses and brick kilns, made yards, 
roads, and other improvements, and did everything required to enable 



€ WILLIAM H. DE GROOT 

him to execute his contract with promptitude and despatch. After 
havin^]!: done all this, at a large expenditure of money, and having 
proved his ability to carry out his contract in a manner satisfactory 
to the government and profitable to himself, the work was stopped, 
not through any default of his, but by the order of the superintendent. 
Under such circumstances can it be pretended that he was not entitled 
to indemnity, and to such an indemnity as would embrace not only 
the expenditures he had made, but likewise damages sustained? 

From this review of the case of the memorialist it would seem that 
recognized principles of equity and justice require that these amounts 
should be refunded to him ; and these principles are powerfully sus- 
tained by the facts that all the property and improvements purchased 
and provided by the memorialist^ at the expense of this large outlay 
of money, now belong to the government, having been conveyed to it 
in pursuance of the joint resolution of March 3, 1857. The govern- 
ment cannot take the memorialist's property and enjoy the fruits of 
his labor without fully indemnifying him therefor. 

But this is not all. The memorialist has as much right in equity 
-and justice to damages for his losses, and satisfaction for the benefit 
which he would naturally have derived from his property and labor, 
as to compensation for his actual expenditures. The committee re- 
gard this as a well established principle of law and equity. The joint 
resolution of March 3, 1857, intended to provide for a full indemnity, 
but the Secretary of the Treasury having construed it otherwise, the 
committee recommend the passage of a joint resolution to meet the 
prayer of the memorialist for such expenditures as he has made in 
the fair prosecution of his contract, over and above the amount he has 
received, and also for the damages he has sustained. The committee 
have refrained from fixing the amount, and submit the decision in re- 
lation thereto to the Secretary of War. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. J Report 
1st Session. \ } No. 275. 



METROPOLITAN GAS-LIGHT COMPANY. 

[To accompany BUI H. R. No. 522.] 



March 30, 1860. 



Mr. Carter, from the Committee on the District of Columhia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columhia, to whom loas referred the 
'petition of Henry S. Davis and others praying for a charter to incor- 
porate them into a company for the purpose of building gas ivorks and 
supplying the city of Washington loith gas, have considered the same, 
and ask leave to report : 

That after a full and careful investigation of the subject your com- 
mittee have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to have a 
wholesome competition in the manufacture and distribution of gas as 
well as in many other branches of business, so as to enable the con- 
sumers to procure the article at a fair price, and as your committee 
believe that the present company who are manufacturing gas in this 
city are charging a high price for the same, and as your committee 
believe that the only remedy is in chartering a new company, to come 
in competition with the old one, and as your committee believe that 
the petitioners are honest and sincere in their application, and intend 
to build up gas works so as to cheapen the price of gas both to the 
government and citizens of the city, and also to improve the quality 
of the same, therefore, your committee ask leave to report the 
accompanying bill, with the recommendation that it pass. 



To the honorable Senate and House of Representatives in Congress as- 
sembled : 

The undersigned petitioners would respectfully represent that the 
gas company in the city of Washington, D. C, chartered by an act 
of Congress in the year 1848, have charged and do continue to charge 
an exorbitant price for the gas furnished the government and also the 
citizens of the city, their charge being four dollars per thousand feet 
for gas of an inferior quality ; and in the opinion of your petitioners 



2 METROPOLITAN GAS-LIGHT COMPANY. 

the only remedy is in forming a new company which will come in 
competition with the old company. Therefore, your petitioners respect- 
fully pray your honorable bodies that you will grant them a charter 
to construct gas works and lay down pipes throughout the city, so as 
to furnish the government and also the citizens with gas at less price 
than they are now paying, and of better quality ; and as in duty 
bound will ever pray. 

H. S. DAVIS. 

GYRUS MOORE. 

GEO. W. COCHRAN. 

JAMES G. ELLIS. 

J. HEPBURN. 

HARMON BURNS. 

J. SHILLINGTON, 
December 5, 1859. 



36Tn Congress, ] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. C Report 
1st Session. \ ) No. 319. 



GENERAL HOSPITAL FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 552.] 



April 2, 1860. 



Mr. Carter, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia beg leave to submit the fol- 
lowing report : 

That they find that the buildings and grounds occupied as the 
Washington Infirmary belong to the United States. The use of them 
was allowed to the faculty of the medical department of Columbian 
College, some years ago, for the purposes of an infirmary for the medical 
instruction and scientific purposes — to be returned, when demanded, in 
good condition. 

That an appropriation of $20,000 has been made by Congress to 
the institution, and a further annual appropriation, first of $2,000, 
now increased to $6,000, has been made for several years past to de- 
fray the expenses in said infirmary of a limited number of transient 
paupers who may fall sick while here as strangers, and have no claim 
upon the corporation of Washington. 

That said faculty receive others into the infirmary who pay accord- 
ing to their accommodations, and that all profit arising from the 
infirmary is enjoyed by the faculty, known as Directors of the Wash- 
ington Infirmary. 

That the faculty use the building for the purposes of a medical col- 
lege. 

That, as a rule, no person is admitted to the infirmary without pay. 
It is believed that greater benefit will be insured to the public, and 
the claims of humanity better answered, by placing the infirmary 
under the care of regents, responsible to proper authorities, that the 
profits now enjoyed by private individuals may be used to extend relief 
to a greater number of those who are unable to pay, and cannot be 
accommodated in the infirmary under present circumstances. 

That the rooms now used for medical lectures should be appropri- 
ated to hospital purposes. 

That the directors in possession have no vested rights, and their 
interests are not interfered with unjustly by devoting the building to 



2 GENERAL HOSPITAL — DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

the accommodation of the sick. Again, they have no claim upon 
government to be furnished with a building for private purposes. 

That regents are the proper authorities to manage the institution, 
instead of directors virtually self-appointed, self-controlling, and irre- 
sponsible. 

The management will be more in consonance with republican prin- 
ciples, insuring the greatest good to the greatest number. 



Washington, March 26, 1860. 

We, the undersigned, after a full and free conference, have con- 
cluded to withdraw all opposition to the proposed plan of separating 
the Washington Infirmary from its present connexion with the Na- 
tional Medical College, and earnestly recommend the adoption by 
Congress of the accompanying bill. 

We further recommend, that in view of the expenses incurred by 
the present managers in furnishing and supporting the institution for 
the last fifteen years, that a sufficient sum be appropriated to indem- 
nify them. 

J. C. HALL, M. D. 

ALEX. Y. P. GARNETT, M. I). 

THO. MILLER, M. D. 

HARVEY LINDSLY, M. D. 



36Tn Congress, ) HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES. [ Report 
1st Session. \ [ No. 405. 



J, W. NYE, ASSIGNEE, &c. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 628.] 



April 13, 1860, 



Mr. Carter, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Cotnmitteefor the District of Columbia, to wJiom was referred the 
memorial of Bev. G. Hildt and eight other clergymen, the mayor, alder- 
men, president and memhersqfthe common council, district attorney, and 
one hundred and thirty-eight citizens of Washington, D. <7., praying 
an examination and settlement of three several claims of J, W. Nye 
upon the government ; one for services rendered and m,oneys expended 
in macadamizing Fentisylvania avenue, Washington city, D, G. in 
1832 ; one for furnishing horses and carryalls for the service of the 
House of Representatives for the 2S(h Congress ; and the other for 
improving certain public grounds, beg leave to submit the following re- 
port : 

That at the Ist session of the 22d Congress a law was passed for 
macadamizing ibrty-five feet of the centre of Pennsylvania avenue 
from the Capitol to the executive offices, putting said improvement 
under the control of the Commissioner of Public Buildings, and direct- 
ing him to advertise for proposals. The Commissioner awarded said work 
to Peter Bargy, jr., of New York, and Hugh Stewart, of Pennsylva- 
nia, in nearly equal divisions, they being the lowest responsible bidders 
and stipulating to perform the same at sixty-two cents per square 
yard. One part of the contract was as follows: " And it is further 
covenanted and agreed, that if the said contractors shall not prosecute 
the said work in such manner, or make such rate of progress as the 
Commissioner may deem necessary, or shall not work on such part or 
parts of the work hereby undertaken, and at such time or times as the 
Commissioner may prescribe, or shall not increase the force employed 
by them if so required by the Commissioner, the said Commissioner 
shall be at full liberty, and is hereby invested with full power and 
authority, to employ or contract with any other person or persons to 
complete the work hereby undertaken, at the proper cost and charo-e 
of the aforesaid contractors, without molestation, hindrance, or any 
interruption by said contractors in anywise or manner." And the 
contractors were required to give ample security for the faithful per- 
formance of said contract. 



2 J. W. NYE. 

So severe were the terms of this contract, the contractors were un- 
willing to sign it until, by actual experiment, they had ascertained 
they could make a reasonable profit on it. To test this they were per- 
mitted to commence work without previously signing the contract. 

On the 14th of August the contract was regularly signed and the 
necessary papers passed. On the 18th of the same month the cholera 
broke out in the city and raged with great violence, especially among 
the laborers on the work. Many were attacked while at work, and 
iJiiriy persons died in one night in the vicinity oi the residence of the 
superintendent of the work. Physicians advised the laborers to leave 
the city, and most of them left the work. 

The contractors, under these circumstances, applied to the Commis- 
sioner for permission to suspend the work until the epidemic subsided; 
but they were refused, and they were required to prosecute the work^ 
or suffer it to be relet at their risk. The contractors had now no alterna- 
tive left but to prosecute the work under these disadvantages, or suffer 
it to go into other hands which they could not direct or control. 

They then offered an increased rate of wages ; but the mortality in- 
creased fearfully, and the Commissioner, loitJiout consultation ivlth the 
contractors, employed three physicians, who visited the men twice 
daily, advising them not to work early or late, and not liard at any 
time. The result was a mere nominal amount of labor performed by 
the men. The superintendent of the work thinks the men did not 
perform more than one-fourth part as much work in a day as they did 
before the cholera, and their wages were raised from 62| and 75 cents 
per day to from $1 to $1 37| per day. The engineer employed by 
the government, who superintended the work, states under oath that 
he passed along the work several times every day, and took particular 
notice of the small amount of labor performed by the men, and that 
iiuo men did not perform more work in a day than one did before the 
cholera. 

The contractors were consequently compelled to employ iivohundred 
men to perform the amount of work in a given time that one hundred 
would have performed in the same time had the cholera not visited 
Washington, or had the contractors been allowed to have suspended 
their work during its influence, and their wages were raised at least 
fifty per cent. 

In justice to the contractors and humanity to the laborers^ the work 
ought to have been suspended. The refusal to suffer it to be sus- 
pended, and the interference of the phys'cians employed by the gov- 
ernment with the men, would seem to render the loss a. just and an 
equitable claim against the government; and iiad not the contractors 
assigned away thuir claim, the committee consider that they would be 
justly and equitably entitled to full remuneration for the diminished 
quantity of work jjerformed by the men, and the increased price paid 
them to induce tliera to stay upon the work. 

The commissioner who had charge of the work says the contractors 
used a due degree of diligence in the propecution of the work, and he 
considers them entitled to receive the full amount of their expendi- 
tures, and a reasonable compensation for their services and the respon- 
sibilities they were under in doing the work. 



J, W. NYE. 3 

But in the case of the present claimant, to whom Bargy and Stewart 
assigned their claims, it would seem to present still stronger claims on 
Congress for relief. Nye had done a large share of this work as sub- 
contractor, amounting to as much as the additional amount claimed 
by said contractors upon the government. The contractors offered to 
transfer these claims against the government to Nye. provided he 
would accept them, and release the contractors from all further lia- 
bility to him. 

Nye had them presented to a number of members of both houses of 
Congress for their examination and advice, who, after a careful exam- 
ination, informed him that they considerrd it a good and a valid claim, 
and that he would run no risk in accepting it and releasing thcra, 
and advised him to do so. In support of their advice, they referred 
him to a number of precedents, where Congress had granted relief, 
where the justice of the claims was not as clear as this. In conse- 
quence of this advice and these precedents pointed out to him by 
members of Congress, Nye took an assignment and released Bargy and 
Stewart from all further liability, thereby depriving himself of any 
security but the Justice, the honor, and the integrity of Congress. Had 
he not released them, he could long ere this obtained both principal 
and intered. Nye being at that time, from sickness, unable to pre- 
pare the necessary papers for presentation to Congress, put them in 
the hands of the late F. S. Key, (then district attorney,) for him to 
prepare and present to Congress in the name of Peter Bargy, jr., and 
Hugh Stewart, without informing Congress of their assignment, 
Bargy 's being presented first. 

The funds for this work were intrusted to Mr. Conger, Bargy's 
clerk, who made his entries on page 79 of Bargy's ledger, kept by 
Conger, showing the amount paid by him. Other bills were paid by 
Bargy himself, and entered by Conger on page 2 of same ledger. 
Conger left the city, and went to the west at the close of the work the 
first year, and did not return. The book was sent to him, that he 
might authenticate the accounts by oath, and show why certain judg- 
ments obtained against Bargy were not entered. His affidavit says : 
"These judgments were for that work done in 1832, but were not 
entered because not paid, and that he entered nothing that was not 
actually paid out." 

The books of the second year were kept and the disbursements 
made by Mr. Ford, clerk of Bargy ; and Ford says that a considerable 
amount of the expenditures of 1832 were not paid until 1833, and 
were not entered in Conger's books. Conger's was the only book sent 
to Mr. Key, and the amount entered on page 19, as expenses of said 
work, and the above-named judgments, were all that were brought to 
Mr. Key's notice. Mr. Key presented to the Senate a claim for $5,645, 
the amount of expenses entered by Conger on page 79, and these judg- 
ments, more than the amount received from the government for that 
work; which passed the Senate. But while this claim was before the 
Committee of Claims of the House, this error was discovered, viz: the 
omission to include the expenses paid by Bargy, and entered on page 
2 of his ledger, and the money paid in 1833 for work done in 1832, 
and entered by Ford, the new clerk of Bargy ; and the chairman of 



4 J. W. NYE.. 

the committee proposed to make an amendment to the Senate bill, but 
the claimant (as it was near the close of the session) preferred to take 
the amount, and apply to Congress at its next session for the balance, 
rather than lake the risk of losing the present bill. This bill passed 
the House March 9, 1839. At the next session the balance of this 
claim was presented to the House, and a report was made from the 
Committee of Claims in favor of its payment, but the House did not 
act upon it. {Since that time it has received the sanction of several 
standing committees and one select committee, and has passed the 
Senate. 

The claim of Stewart was presented in the Senate, received the 
sanction of the Committee on Claims, passed the Senate, sent to the 
House, and received the sanction of the committee of the House, but 
was not acted on by the House. At the next session a very able report 
■was made in its favor by Mr. S. B. Leonard, chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, in which he adopted a dif- 
ferent rule for the settlement of this claim from that adopted in Bar- 
gy's case, which was, to pay the whole expense of the work ; so that 
had the contract been taken too low, and a loss sustained, from that 
or any other cause, the government would have met the loss. The 
principle adopted by Mr. Leonard was to allow the claimant the loss 
sustained from the diminished quantity of work performed by the 
men, and the increased price of wages paid the men to induce them 
to stay during the influence of the cholera. This principle would 
seem a correct one, as it would place the contractors in the same con- 
dition they would have been placed in had they been allowed to post- 
pone their work during the influence of the cholera, but would allow 
them nothing for any loss sustained from any other cause. 

This principle has been adopted by a number of standing committees 
and one select committee. Mr. Leonard's bill was not acted on by 
the House. 

At the next Congress Mr. Ward, chairman of the above committee, 
made a report to the House, in which he sustained the principle 
adopted by Mr. Leonard, but did not go into an examination of the 
amount justly due on that principle, but reported a bill allowing him 
the same amount of extra compensation as had been allowed in the 
case of Bargy, which passed both houses, by which the claimant 
received |6,666 25. The balance of Stewart's loss, according to the 
principle established by Mr. Leonard, has, since the passage of Mr. 
Ward's bill, received the sanction of a number of standing committees 
and one select committee, and has passed the Senate. The amount of 
work done by Stewart during the influence of the cholera, at his con- 
tract price, was ,$10,924 60. The amount done by Bargy during the 
same time, at his contract price, was $1,871 40, amounting in all to 
$18,796, to which amount, according to the principle adopted by 
former committees, one hundred per cent ought to be added for the 
diminished amount of labor performed by the men, the contractors 
being compelled to employ two hundred to perform what one hundred 
would have done in the same length of time had the contractors been 
allowed to suspend their v/ork during the influence of the cholera ; 
and to this amount add fifty per cent, for the increased price paid the 



J W. NYE. 5 

la"borers to induce them to stay on the work, and from this amount 
deduct the amounts paid the original contractors^ and their assignee 
or attorney, and should there remain a balance, thus found, still 
unpaid, that the proper accounting officers of the treasury pay the 
same to J. W. Nye, the assignee of said contractors, and in accord- 
ance with the foregoing principle the committee report a bill and 
earnestly recommend its passage. 

The amount due Nye from Bargy and Stewart for this work was as 
large as the amount claimed by tliem from the government ; so that, 
had he obtained it without any delay, he would have received no more 
than was justly due him for services rendered and moneys expended, 
of which the government has received the whole benefit. 

In justice to the claimant and his family, and in consideration of 
the great length of time most faithfully devoted by him to the prose- 
cution of this claim, and to relieve Congress from any further ijupor- 
iunity and expense, the committee recommend its immediate settle- 
ment. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF EEPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. S I ^^' ^0^- 



J. W. NYE. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 629] 



April 13, 1860. 



Mr. Carter, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The committee beg have to submit the following report in regard to Nye's 
claim for improving a lot of public ground: 

That, by an act approved 5th of July, 1812, (Statutes at Large, 
first session, twelfth Congress, page 775,) the President of the United 
States was authorised to lease any of the public grounds in the city 
of Washington, for a term not exceeding ten years, on such terms 
and conditions as, in his judgment, would best eflfect their improve- 
ment for public purposes. 

By an act of Congress the Tiber creek was, in 1833, changed from 
its original bed, between the avenue and canal, to where it now flows, 
leaving the old bed of said creek an open, offensive channel. This 
lot of ground, in which was this channel, became the receptacle of 
the filth and rubbish of that part of the city, rendering it a public 
nuisance. This lot was bounded on the north by Pennsylvania avenue, 
east by the creek where it now flows, on the south by the canal, and 
on the west by Third street, now known as the botanical garden. 

In 1813 J. W. Nye proposed to the President of the United States 
that, if the President would give him a lease of said ground for tea 
years, he would fill the old bed of Tiber creek, make a sewer to con- 
vey the water from the avenue to the creek, set out a row of shade 
trees along the avenue and along Third street, on the borders of said 
lot, and put the ground in as high a state of cultivation as the other 
grounds around the Capitol, and would enclose the ground with a 
board fence, erect a carriage-house and stable near the canal and 
Missouri avenue, and put no other buildings of any description on 
said piece of ground. When the proposition was made to the Presi- 
dent he objected to giving a lease for ten years, on the ground that 
it was thought by many that Congress would direct the location of 
the b'mithsonian Institution on that lot. To obviate that objection, 
Nye consented to agree to relinquish said grounds should Congress see 
fit otherwise to dispose of them, and to remove his fence and stable 
from said ground whenever required by the government so to do. 



2 J. W. NYE. 

without any claim on government for said improvement. When re^ 
monstrated with for making this offer, Nye said he would as willingly 
take it with this condition as without it, having no fear, should Con- 
gress desire to appropriate it to any other purpose after he had made 
the improvements, that any member of Congre8S,would consent that 
it should be taken irom him without making him sufficient compen- 
sation i'or his expenditures, and that tliey would as willingly do it as 
though it had been so expressed in the lease. Major JNoland, the 
Commissioner of Public Buildings, remonstrated with Nye for making 
this offer, telling him that jt would cost at least Jive thousand dollars 
to make said improvements. 

He obtained a lease from President Tyler, on the 29th day of April, 
1843, on the aforesaid conditions. 

He planted the trees in November of the same year, agreeable to 
his contract. He was three years in making the improvements re- 
quired by the lease, having expended over tiverify-nine hundred dollars 
in making said improvements, besides putting three hundred dollars 
worth of manure on said ground, making an expenditure of about 
three thousand two hundred dollars, besides hia own services, in 
making said improvements — he having kept no account of work done 
by himself^ — most of the work, filling up, and hauling soil to spread 
on the ground, being done by his own teams and hands. 

The fourth year he raised a very large crop of corn and vegetables 
on said lot, the ground having been i)ut in a high state of cultivation. 
The fifth year he had it put in a high state of preparation for a crop, 
but the Commissioner ot Public Buildings (Mr. Charles Douglass) re- 
quested him to let the lot lie open long enough to enable him to have 
the creek near the avenue walled up ) and when the Commissioner got 
the walling done, it was too late to raise anything that year. In the 
ensuing lall or winter this walling was washed away, and Congress 
having made an appropriation for walling the creek from the avenue 
to the canal, the Commissioner requested Nye to let the lot lie open in 
order to more conveniently make said imi)rovements, promising Nye 
that he would get his lease extended as long as he was deprived of its 
use during both years, to which Nye consented. The Commissioner 
did not get the improvements made until winter ; Nye was consre- 
quently deprived of its use that year also. 

During that Congress an appropriation was introduced in the Senate 
for enclosing the public grounds on the north, south, and west front 
of the Capitol. Nye called on one of the senators to know if it was 
intended to include the lot leased to him, and was informed that it 
was not. After said a})proprialion was made, the Commissioner in- 
formed Nye tliat he was going to enclose the square between the Cap- 
itol and that occupied by Nye with a high paling-fence, and requested 
him to remove his hoard-Jence and let the Commissioner extend his 
paling-fence around both squares, at the same time assuring him that 
it was in noway to interfere with him in his occupancy of said lot 
until the exj)iration of his lease, to which Nye assented. After the 
Commissioner had enclosed said lot, he called on Nye to remove his 
carriage-house and give up the lot, which Nye refused to do, and sent 
a memorial to the Senate to ascertain if it was their intention to de- 



J. W. NYE. 3 

prive liim of his lease without compensation. The memorial was re- 
ferred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, but not 
acted upon. This Commissioner being removed in a few days, and 
another appoin ed, Nye proceeded to sow the lot with oats; but a 
short time before the oats were sufficiently ripe for cutting, the new 
Commissioner demanded of Nye the key of the gate, which he refused 
to surrender until the expiration of his lease. The next day he found 
the lock broken from the gate and the oats mowed and raked up for 
fodder ; and from that time Nye was refused the occupancy of the lot. 
And the use of said lot ior one year only, after the improvements Nye 
made, is all the compensation he has ever received. 

Without the authority of Congress, the Commissioner had no right 
to bar his occupancy of the grounds undet the lease of the President 
of the United States. 

The lease was given in good faith, and with the intent that it should 
run its full term if Nye fulfilled the conditions ; and there is no evi- 
dence that he did not to the letter. 

At the commencement of the thirty-fourth Congress, the mayor, 
aldermen, members of the common council, and some one hundred and 
thirty very respectable citizens of Washington, feeling a deep interest 
in Nye and his suffering family, memorialized Congress, praying that 
"a liberal and generous settlement of his claims" might be made. 
This memorial, with the papers in the case, was referred to the Coni- 
niittee for the District of Columbia ; they, after having fully examined 
the claim, finding that Nye having stated under oath he had ex- 
pended in money $2,900 for improvements, and had used about $300 
worth of manure on the said lot, in addition to his ov/n labor, reported 
a joint resolution in his favor for the sum of $3,200, which passed the 
House, was sent to the Senate, and referred to the Committee for the 
District of Columbia of that body; when the committee examined the 
case they found no testimony showing what was the actual cost or 
worth of the work that had been done. It therefore became necessary 
for Nye to furnish that evidence to the committee before they would 
agree to report in favor of the House resolution. Accordingly, Nye 
procured the services of W. W. Birth, esq., a highly respectable citi- 
zen of this city, (a sworn measurer,) to measure the work, also state- 
ments made by other respectable citizens accustomed to doing such 
work, sustaining Mr. Birth, some of them naming a much larger sum 
than Mr. Birth. This additional evidence having been submitted to 
the Senate committee, they rej)orted in favor of the resolution, which 
v/as passed, and the money paid. 

The statement made by Mr. Birth shows that the actual cost of the 
work done by Nye on said lot^ at a lair and reasonable price, amounts 
to thesura of $7,982 84 

From which Nye makes the following deductions : 

By cash received from treasury |3,200 00 

By cash from sale of materials 210 00 

By use of square or lot one year , 1,140 40 

— . .^ 4^550 40 

3,432 44 



4 J W. NYE. 

Leaving the above balance in Nye's favor, whicli he claims as being 
equitably and justly due him. 

The measurement of this work was not an after thought of Nye, 
and never thought of by him until suggested by the Senate committee, 
and what is now claimed is not for damages, but for services rendered 
and moneys expended, which the government has received; and 
had Nye not made those improvements. Congress would have been 
called upon to appropriate that amount of money, and perhaps more, 
for that purpose. 

The committee are therefore of the opinion that the said Nye 
should be paid the sum of , and report a bill herewith. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENT A.T1VES. ( Report 
Is;; Sess{o7i. S ) No. 40T. 



J. W. NYE. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 630.] 



April 13, 1860. 



Mr. Carter, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia ^ to iuhom loas referred the 
memorial of the Bev. Mr. Hildt, district attorney, mayor, aldermen, 
members of the common council, and one hundred and thirty-eight citi- 
zens of Washington, D. (7., praying an examination and settlement of 
three several claims of J. W. Nye against the government ; one of 
luhich ivas for furnishing horses and carryalls, and keeping them in 
readiness for the service of the House of Representatives for the 28^A 
Congress, submit the following report: 

That on the 5th day of January, 1844, the postmaster of the House 
of Representatives entered into a contract with J. W. Nye to furnish 
for the use of said House for the 28th Congress three horses and car- 
ryalls, and keep them in readiness for the service of the House. Said 
horses and carryalls were not to be driven by Nye, or by any one 
under his control, but by those in the service of the House and under 
the control of the postmaster. All that was required of Nye was to 
feed the horses and keep them for the service of the House whenever 
required. The postmaster likewise contracted with Nye to haul all 
the boxes and other articles wanted by or for the House for that Con- 
gress. After this contract had been duly signed by the respective 
parties, it was by the House referred to the Committee on Accounts for 
their examination, who unanimously approved the same as being in 
conformity to the law authorising the postmaster to contract with 
some person to furnish property for this service. Shortly after Nye 
had furnished this property, and they were performing the service, 
the postmaster requested Nye to give up the hauling to a colored man 
without any remuneration therefor. Mr. Nye refused to annul this 
part of the contract, believing it to be the best of it. On Nye's refusal, 
the postmaster told him that he should make nothing by the contract. 
Nye replied that he had it in writing, and would abide by it ; to which 
the postmaster replied, if Nye had it in loriling, that he, the post- 
master, could manage it so that Nye could make nothing by it. Soon 
after this the drivers, with the exception of Mr. Henry, commenced 



2 J W. NYE. 

driving this property in the most abusive and destructive manner. 
They were in the habit of taking a number of young men into the 
carryall ; one take the lines and another the whip, and drive the 
horse at his utmost speed. Small boys, and those unacquainted with 
the management of horses, were allowed to drive them. One driver 
used frequently to come in after twelve o'clock at night so drunk that 
he would have to be taken out of the carryall and carried home. The 
horses and carryalls were frequently left standing out late at night 
without being fastened, and ran away and broke the carryall and har- 
ness to pieces, A respectable merchant of this city met one of these 
messengers driving one of Nye's horses and carryalls into Georgetown 
with two or three young men with him in the carryall, with the 
horse in a full run, covered with foam. Seeing him soon after, he 
told him he ought not to drive in that manner, that he would certainly 
Jki7Z the horse; to which he repiied, " that was no matter; that he 
could have a. fresh horse whenever he wanted ; and ia all probability 
it would be but a few days before they would have some other person 
to furnish the property." 

Nye frequently remonstrated with the postmaster, both verbally 
and in writing, of the destructive manner in which those under his 
control were using this property, to which not the least attention was 
paid by the postmaster, as sworn to by his assistant postmaster. The 
assistant postmaster also states, under oath, that the postmaster 
declared that he would take the contract from Nye if he could, and 
that Nye should have nothing to do about the Capitol, if he could 
prevent it, without giving any reason why. There does not appear, 
from any of the testimony, that Nye ever gave the least cause for this 
hostility to him. One of the postmaster's messengers, and one of his 
own witnesses, (Mr. Henry,) and his assistant postmaster both state, 
under oath, that they never heard Mr. Nye utter a disrespectful word 
to the postmaster or to any one about the Capitol. They also stated 
that Mr. Nye treated them with great kindness ; that he and his son 
gave them their services for one month, assisting them in their otfice 
and learning them their routes, and carrying their mails, the post- 
master and his assistants being entirely unacquainted with the busi- 
ness ; and for this month's service Mr. Nye or his son never received 
or asked any remuneration. 

The rapidity with which this property was destroyed is almost sur- 
passing belief. Three horses were injured so that they died soon after; 
others rendered entirely worthless, and eight others crippled so as to 
be unfit for service for months, and others hired in their places. 
Three sets of harness and one carryall were destroyed and the others 
very much injured. Had this property been driven in a proper man- 
ner, three horses would have been sufficient for the use of the carryalls 
for the whole Congress ; but in consequence of the destructive manner 
i'n which they were driven, in addition to the five he owned when he 
took the contract and seven he purchased, which were all used in that 
•work, he was compelled to hire large numbers by the day to perform 
the work. Mr. Henry, one of the messengers who drove one of these 
horses and carryalls, stated, under oath, before the Committee for the 
District of Columbia, (34th Congress,) that, had the horses been 



J. W. NYE. 6 

properly driven, the work would not have hurt them in the least; 
that he had one that had been in constant service in that work eight 
years, and was then ia as good condition as when first put on the 
work. 

[Shortly after the commencement of the second session of that Con- 
gress, Nye received a letter from the postmaster, informing him that 
his property would be no longer used in the service of the House. 
Nye then sent a letter to the postmaster, and another to the chairman 
of the Committee on Accounts, that the property he had contracted 
to furnish for the use of the House was on hand, in good order, and 
ready at all times to perform said service, and that he should demand 
and expect pay for their services according to the terms of the contract. 

This work was then performed by property owned by John Lee, 
while Nye's property stood idle, unemployed, ready to perform the 
service of the House ; he neither using it himself, nor permitting any 
one else to use it, except in the service of the House. The postmaster's 
messengers were then allowed fifty cents per day each extra compen- 
sation, free from expense or any extra service, as long as they could 
prevent Nye's horses performing the service and have it done by Lee's, 
as sworn to by one of the messengers and one of the postmaster's oion 
witnesses ; and then these same messengers were brought forward by 
the postmaster to swear away Nye's contract. The Committee on 
Accounts were directed by the House to inquire into the refusal of the 
postmaster to allow Nye's property to perform the work. ^ On the 
committee's calling on the postmaster for the reason for this refusal 
he informed them that what caused the first difficulty between him 
and Nye was, that Nye purchased all his feed for his horses on a 
month's credit, promising to pay when the money was drawn for their 
work ; that when it was drawn Nye refused to pay ; they warranted 
him, and he set them at defiance ; which being denied by Nye, the 
committee sent for the man who furnished the feed, and he stated 
under oath that he furnished Nye all his feed after he got the contract, 
and that Nye paid him punctually and honorably, and that he never 
warranted him ; and yet, it is in evidence that after this charge was 
proven untrue the postmaster repeated it to others. 

This charge, and the insufficiency of the property, were all the 
postmaster made openly in his defence. The committee examined a 
large number of witnesses under oath in regard to the property fur- 
nished by Nye. It was proven to be as good as could be procured in 
the city, and the best ever employed in that service. One of them 
was considered worth more than all three furnished by Lee. After 
examining a large number of witnesses in regard to this property, the 
committee had it taken to the Capitol, and they went out and ex- 
amined it for themselves, and they decided that it was sufficiently 
good. They then examined two men who assisted in taking care of 
this property, and who took them to the Capitol for the examination 
of the committee, to ascertain whether it was the same property that 
was in the service of the House while Nye furnished the property ; 
and they stated under oath that it was the same that was in the ser- 
vice of the House the last day Nye's property were allowed to perform 
the service. During the 33d Congress this carryall contract was be- 



4 J. W. NYE. 

fore the Committee of Claims of the House, and in order to do away 
the effect of the decision of the Committee on Accounts, that the 
property was sufficiantly good, the postmaster presented to that com- 
mittee a written statement, sworn to before a magistrate, stating that 
Nye imposed on the Committee on Accounts by presenting them dif- 
ferent and better horses than were in the service of the House while 
his property were doing that work. In addition to the testimony of 
the two men examined by the Committee on Accounts, Nye presented 
his own evidence under oath, and three other disinterested wit- 
nesses who were present when the committee examined the property, 
that there was not a horse there for the examioation of the committee 
that was not in the service of the House while Nye's horses were 
doing the work. The postmaster has presented no testimony what- 
ever in support of his affidavit. At tlie termination of this contract 
there was due to Nye, according to the terms of his contract for 
hauling and for furnishing horses and carryalls, $1,979 84, of which 
he has since received $525 ; and for 853 days of extra horses to sup- 
ply the place of those crippled by the wilful abuse of those in the 
service of the House, which, at his contract price, $1 70 per day, 
amounts to $1,450 10 ; and for horses killed or ruined, $775 ; three 
sets of harness destroyed, $25 each, $75 ; and for loss by destruction 
and injury of carryalls, $270. 

In consequence of the great destruction of this property, and to 
enable him to comply with his contract, and have horses, &c., ready 
at all times when required, Nye was compelled to contract debts to 
the amount of $771, for the payment of which, at the termination of 
his contract, he had property sacrificed under the hammer worth at 
least $2,150, making a loss to him of $1,379. 

Had Nye, at the termination of his contract, received the $1,979 84, 
justly his due from the House, he could have paid this $771, and 
would have had $1,208 84 left to help him in his business, without 
disposing of any of his property. Previous to and at the time Nye 
took this contract, he was doing a good business, keeping a livery 
stable and running hacks, and his family were living as well as any 
family in Washington city ; but by the failure of the House to pay 
him his just due, all his property, horses, carriages, furniture, and 
everything he possessed, were sacrificed under the hammer for debts 
contracted in doing this work for the House, his business entirely 
broken up and he and his large family, (nine in number,) in extreme 
and long-continued sickness, left entirely destitute of any means of 
support except what his son, in feeble health, could earn until he was 
struck down by consumption; and then all th3 support they had was 
what his oldest daughter, (18 years of age,) could earn in a printing 
office, until she was struck down by the same disease as her brother 
was, and then her younger sister took her place in the printing office, 
who has since been consigned to the silent grave ; and the whole 
family, in consequence of the destruction of his property by those in 
the service of the House^ and the failure of the House to comply with 
the terms of sa.id contract, have passed through scenes of suffering 
and distress which the heart sickens to contemplate. In addition to 
the amount due under the contract, Nye claims that he is justhj and 



J. W. NYE. 5 

equitably entitled to receive from the government Avhat he can show 
what his business, which he was then doing, was worth per annum 
over and above his necessary expenditures in its performance, from 
the time his business was broken up by the non-performance of the 
contract on the part of the House until tiiey pay him the amount then 
justly due. But as he has presented no testimony in regard to the 
worth of that business, the committee have not taken that into con- 
sideration. 

It appears from the testimony that Mr. Nye faithfully complied 
with the terms of his contract, and the committee consider him justly 
and equitably entitled to receive the amount due for hauling boxes 
and furnishing horses and carryalls, and damage to property, amount- 
ing to $5,568 44, deducting the sum of |525 already received, and 
they accordingly report a bill for his reliefj and earnestly recommead 
its passage. All of which they submit. 



36th Congkess, ) HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. S f No. 462. 



EEIMBURSE CORPORATION OF GEORGETOWN CERTAIN 

MONEYS. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 679.] 



April 20, 1860. 



Mr. Carter, from tlie Committee for the District of Columbia, made 



the following 



REPORT. 



The Committee for the District of Columbia have had under conside- 
ration the bill " to reimburse the corporation of Georgetown, in the 
District of Columbia, a sum of money advanced towards the construc- 
tion of the Little Falls bridge," and beg to submit the following 
"report," prepared by Mr. Goode, during the thirty-fifth Congress, 
concurring in the same : 

In the month of March, 1853, the sum of thirty thousand dollars 
was appropriated by Congress for the construction of a bridge over the 
Potomac river, at a point known as the Little Falls, and the work 
was placed in process of construction, under the direction of George 
Thorn, captain in corps of topographical engineers. 

In the fall of 1853, when the work had been prosecuted near to 
completion, the appropriation was found to be exhausted — the sum of 
thirty thousand dollars having been expended — and it became neces- 
sary to suspend operations until other funds could be procured appli- 
cable to the object. 

It was supposed that several months must pass before an additional 
appropriation could be expected from Congress ; and the abandonment 
of the work, in an unfinished condition, at the approach of winter, 
must expose it to serious injury, whilst its suspension would involve 
a necessity for a sale of the stock on hand, by which the government 
would suffer a heavy loss. To avoid these evils, the officer in charge, 
on consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, applied to the cor- 
porate authorities of Georgetown to advance a sum of five thousand 
dollars, which would enable him to continue his operations, and carry 
forward the bridge to a condition in which it might be used for travel 
during the then following winter. This proposition was acceded to, 
and, by several acts of the corporation, the sum of five thousand eight 
hundred dollars was placed to the credit and subject to the order of 



2 REIMBURSE CORPORATION GEORGETOWN CERATIN MONEYS. 

Captain Thorn, to be expended in the construction of the Little Falls 
bridge, his assurance being given, with the consent of the Secretary 
of the Interior, that the amount should be reimbursed to the corpora- 
tion of Georgetown when the further appropriation should be made by 
Congress. It also appears that some lien on the stock on hand was 
executed in fevor of the corporation of Georgetown, as a security for 
the reimbursement of the amount advanced ; but it is believed that 
nothing was realized by the corporation from this lien, the entire stock 
having been applied to the uses of government. 

In August, 1854, Congress appropriated a further sum of fifteen 
thousand dollars for completing the bridge; but a serious accident had 
befallen it, which created a necessity for the appropriation of a large 
sum, and the corporation of Georgetown postponed its claim for im- 
mediate payment, unwilling to delay the completion of the work ; 
accordingly, the sum of thirteen thousand eight hundred dollars, part 
of the appropriation of fifteen thousand dollars, was applied towards 
the completion of the bridge, leaving a balance of twelve hundred 
dollars, which was applied towards the payment of the sum of five 
thousand eight hundred dollars, leaving the sum of four thousand six 
hundred dollars due to the corporation of Georgetown ; for the pay- 
ment of which a bill is herewith reported. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESE.^TATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ ( No. 565. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

[To accompany liill H. R. No. 768.] 



May 24, 1860. 



Mr. Hughes, from a minority of the Committee on the District of 
Columbia, submitted the following 

xMINORITY REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom loas referred the 
memorial of the select committee of the directors of the Bletropolitan 
Railroad Company, beg leave to submit the following report: 

Your committee have carefully examined the said memorial and the 
evidence which has been laid before them, in support of the statements 
which it sets forth, and the result of their investigation shows : 

That on the 3d March, 1853, Congress passed a law entitled " An 
act to incorporate the Georgetown and Catoctin, or Metropolitan Rail- 
road Company." By this act it was provided, " That whenever the 
State of Maryland shall, by law, incorporate a company to lay out 
and construct a railroad from any point in connexion with the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad, at or near the Point of Rocks to Georgetown, 
in the District of Columbia, the right of way, not exceeding sixty feet 
wide, be, and is hereby granted to such company," &c. This company 
was to exercise and possess powers and franchises within the District 
of Columbia, which should be granted by Maryland within that State. 

At the January session of 1853 the general assembly of Maryland 
did pass an act entitled " An act to incorporate the Metropolitan Rail- 
road Company," by which several gentlemen whose names are men- 
tioned, some of them citizens of the District, and others of Maryland, 
were appointed commissioners to receive subscriptions to the capital 
stock of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, which was thereby in- 
corporated, on the subscription of ten thousand shares of fifty dollars 
each, on which a payment was to be made at the time of subscription 
of five dollars per share. 

By the 10th section of this act the company was invested with the 
right to construct and repair a railroad from Georgetown, in the dis- 
trict of Columbia, through Montgomery county, crossing the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad at a point not exceeding five miles from the Mono- 
cacy aqueduct, &c. This act was passed on the 5th May, 1853, and 
was consequently within the provisions of the act of Congress of the 
preceding March. 



2 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

On the 6th March, 1856, an amendatory act was passed by the gen- 
eral assembly of Maryland, dispensing with the requirement contained 
in the original act of incorporation that the road should be constructed 
to Hagerstown before any dividends should be declared. 

By virtue of this conjoint action of Congress and the legislature o 
Maryland, the com})any thus incorporated became entitled to the right 
of constructing a railroad within the District of Columbia, from 
Georgetown, through certain parts of Maryland. 

The memorialists now solicit Congress to authorize this company to 
construct railway tracks through certain parts of the cities of Wash- 
ington and Georgetown. Your committee entertain no doubt of the 
legal power of Congress to grant the authority thus asked, and as 
little as to expediency of conferring it upon proper conditions, and 
with suitable restrictions and conditions. The power to make this 
grant has been so repeatedly exeicised by Congress in cases exactly 
analogous, that it is believed its validity cannot admit of a reasona- 
ble doubt, and it is certain that it has in repeated instances been done, 
not only with the distinct concurrence of the adjacent States of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland, but at their special instance and request. 

The question of expediency demands a more extended notice, and 
as there have arisen some serious misapprehension as to many facts 
connected with this branch of the case, your committee will, with as 
much brevity as is consistent with a fa'r exposition of the subject, 
submit the results to which they have been conducted by the most 
satisfactory evidence. In presenting the view of the grounds upon 
which they have formed their opinions, they will be able to correct 
some of the errors, as they conceive them to be, upon which objections 
have been founded to the grant which is now asked. It seems to be 
universally conceded that on every ground of public benefit and private 
convenience the establishment of railroads with commodious arrange- 
ments for the transportation of passengers, &c., is highly desirable. 
The various cities to the north, more especially Phiadelphia and New 
York, have fully recognized the advantages resulting from this system. 
The numerous railways constructed in those cities have demonstrated 
beyond all doubt to the satisfaction of their respective communities 
the vast benefits of which they are productive. 

In every aspect of the case the advantages resulting from its adop- 
tion in this District would be and must be far greater. In those older 
cities the streets are of much smaller dimensions than those in Wash- 
ington. Few, if any even, of the streets in the recently built parts of 
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York or Boston, can be compared in 
their dimensions, or in their adaptation to the use of railroads with 
those of Washington. The Pennsylvania avenue and other streets 
through which it is contemplated to construct these roads are so ample 
in their dimensions as to allow of them without any hindrance to 
their employment in any other way. 

The great distances between the termini of these projected improve- 
ments would seem to require some facilities for intercourse between 
them far greater than is now enjoyed. To go from one extremity of 
Washington to the further end of Georgetown is almost an impracti- 
cable day's labor for any but a robust and active pedestrian. Even 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 3 

with the facilities afforded by omnibuses it is no inconsiderable task. 
The introduction of railroads and passenger cars would largely con- 
duce to the comfort and convenience of the citizens of both places. 

This view of the case is so universally acknowledged and appre- 
ciated, that it is deemed unnecessary to dilate upon it further. 

Other considerations, of a far more enlarged character, have been 
presented to the consideration of the committee, to which they will 
now briefly advert. 

This part of the subject involves questions of the highest import. 
The value of the railroad system to be introduced into tlie cities of 
the District is influenced by peculiar circumstances growing out of 
their position, distinguishing this locality from all the cities to which 
reference has been made. 

Boston and New York, to a great degree, and Philadelphia and Bal- 
timore, to a considerable extent, are the natural termini of communi- 
cations with the interior country. When passengers reach them from 
any quarter, they are frequently at the end of their journey ; when 
produce arrives, it is either to be consumed on the spot or shipped 
abroad. The District of Columbia occupies a different position. It 
constitutes a common centre ; every communication does, or ought to, 
radiate from it. Travellers from the north to the south, from the east 
to the west, and contrariwise, may, or ought to, find channels of com- 
munication scantily afforded by any other position in this District. 
The capacity for this facility of communication to the north, the south, 
the east, and the west, was distinctly seen by Greneral Washington, 
and entered largely into the consideration which induced the selection 
of the District as the permanent seat of the federal government. Sim- 
ilar views were taken of the subject by Mr. Grallatin, who, while Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, in a very able report made to the Senate in 
1808, explained them at large. 

It is in the two aspects of the case to which we have adverted that 
the committee has maturely considered the subject referred to them. 
They estimate very highly the advantages which would result to the 
private and public interests of the cities of Georgetown and Washing- 
ton from a judicious and properly arranged and conducted system of 
railroad communication through them. They appreciate still more 
highly the far more enlarged and national benefits which must accom- 
pany the union of these local advantages, if the same system can be so 
framed as to make this road the regular and convenient channel of 
communication between the different sections of this great empire — if 
the District of Columbia can be made the centre from which shall 
radiate to the north, south, east, and west, the great lines for trans- 
portation. 

The combination of these two important purposes would realize the 
hopes of W^ashington and the proposed views of Grallatin. 

The only remaining question which the committee has thought it 
necessary to examine is, whether the project of the memorialists in this 
case afford any reasonable promise of the accomplishment of these 
great results. We think that they certainly do. 

To enter into a particular examination of all the facts which have 
conducted us to our conclusions would be to extend this report to an 



4 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

unreasonable length. The committee therefore refer with much pleas- 
ure and satisfiiction to the very able report made by the acting chief 
engineer of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, dated July 2, 1855, 
which they make part of this report, and the memorial of the commit- 
tee of the directors of the company referred to them. We are of opinion 
that these documents fully estaV.lish these points : 

1. That the Metropolitan railroad is an essential part of the system 
of railroads centering at the seat of the general government, and the 
successiul completion and operation of the system depends upon the 
construction of this road. 

2. The lull development of the advantages and true policy of the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad demands its construction. 

3. The local interests of Georgetown, Washington, and Alexandria 
are dependent upon it. 

4. When completed, it will exercise an influence upon these cities 
equal to the most sanguine expectations. 

5. It will undoubtedly be a remunerating road ; it can be completed 
without exceeding the estimates, and whatever may be the present 
delays and difficulties, the inducements for its construction are too 
great to doubt it will be built. 

These conclusions are distinctly proved by the report of the acting 
engineer already cited, and established by him with an argument 
founded upon premises which appear to us conclusive. 

The memorial which has been referred to the committee, with the 
evidence embodied in it and appended to it, also as clearly corrects 
some misapprehensions that have occurred in regard to the character 
and procetdings of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, and have 
satisfied the committee as to the propriety of those proceedings, as well 
as to the ability of the company to perform the contract which they 
ask Congress to make with them. Accompanying this report are the 
two documents already cited, and others, which the committee ask to 
have appended as part of it. They have reported the following bill, 
and ask that the same may be enacted into a law. 

[See report of William H. Grant, esq., acting chief engineer of the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company, marked No. 1 ; also, memorial of 
select committee, &c., No. 2, and the legal opinion of Joseph H. 
Bradley, No. 3.] 



No. 1. 

Beport of William H. Grant, Acting Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan 

Railroad Company. 

Engineer's Office, Metropolitan Railroad, 

Georgetoivn, D. C, July 2, 1855. 

To the Board of Directors of the 3Ietropolitan Railroad Company : 

GentlexMEN : The first annual report, made to you July 3, 1854, 
contained a statement of the operations of the engineer department, 
from the commencement of the preliminary surveys up to that date ; 



METROrOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 5 

showing the nature and extent of the service that had heen performed, 
the character and topographical features of a wide region of country, 
and the pains that had been taken to develop the route that would 
best conform to the somewhat difficult conditions and restrictions of 
the act of incorporation. Numerous trial lines were exhibited and 
compared, and subjected to the required tests, and a route was desig- 
nated which, fortunately, met the requirements of the act and accorded 
with the interests of the stockholders and the public. An approxi- 
mate estimate of the cost of the work accompanied the report. 

Since that date the final location of the road has been made upon the 
route designated, between Georgetown and Hagerstown, and the 
necessary maps, plans, and estimates, have been prepared for the work, 
in accordance with instructions, and I have now the honor to report 
the same co the board. 

Is/. The located line. 

The field duties were closed in October last, and the two parties that 
had been engaged were disbanded. 

The heads of the parties, Messrs. Burgess and Miller, retaining one 
assistant each, entered upon the office work of preparing their field 
notes and executing the maps, profiles, &c. 

This duty, together with the labor incident to the public letting of 
forty-three miles of the road, on the 15th of February, 1855, occupied 
them until the 30th of April last, when their services were suspended. 
The line was located with great care, and with all the details requisite 
for defining it with accuracy and preparing it for the actual operations 
of construction. The division lines and boundaries of property inter- 
sected by the road were traced and fixed upon the maps of location, 
each separate parcel of land occupied being defined, with the owner's 
name, and the area computed, the topography delineated, embracing 
streams, roads, hills, mountains, and valleys, cities and villages, and 
altogether forming a complete and skilfully executed record of the 
labors of the engineer corps, and of the entire details of the allinement 
of the road. 

The map accompanying this report is accurately reduced from the 
maps of location, which are contained in two large portfolios, and 
embraces a wider scope of country, exhibiting the principal experi- 
mental lines that have been traced, and a comprehensive view (in great 
part from actual survey) of the portions of country more immediately 
affected by the road. 

The District of Columbia^ with the county of Montgomery, and a 
large portion of the counties of Frederick and Washington, in Mary- 
land, and more fully mapped out than has been done heretofore. On 
the west is the Potomac river, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, and 
the line of the Washington Aqueduct, extending from Washington 
city to the Great Falls of the Potomac, and on the east and north, and 
turning westwardly with a wide detour, is seen the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad, extending from Washington to the Potomac river near 
the Point of Rocks, &c. 

Intermediate is the Metropolitan line, passing directly across the 



b METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

country, intersecting the Baltimore and Ohio road east of the Point of 
Eocks, and extending on to the cities of Frederick and Hagerstown. 
This map, taken in connexion with that accompanying the Ibrmer re- 
port, will give a complete view of the local and more extended objects 
and advantages oi the Metropolitan road. 

The located line is so distinctly represented by the map that a more 
particular descri})tion of it is unnecessary. It follows very nearly the 
route described as the "■ middle" route in the former report, with a 
few exce})tions, (which were then alluded to,) where material improve- 
ments were found practicable on a closer examination. The grades 
and alinement were generally improved, and, on the whole, the work 
was rendered more favorable than was shown by the preliminary sur- 
veys. The route, from Georgetown to the Baltimore and Ohio road, 
is a superior one in all the essentials of grades and curves, and, as 
will be seen by the estimates, as compared with other roads of the 
country, it is much below the average in cost of construction. On a 
great portion of the distance its location is such as to render the cost 
of maintenance comparatively light, passing as it does over moderately 
undulating ground, where deep cuts and heavy embankments are not 
required, and so near the dividing lines of the drainage of the country 
as to be free from the wash of rains and streams that is so prolific a 
source of expense in repairs. 

In regard to the position of the route, as being " the most eligible 
and central through Montgomery county," the subject was so fully 
discussed (and I think correctly determined) in the former report that 
it cannot be necessary to recur to it again. 

I will mention here, however, that on a subsequent examination 
and comparison of the estimates for the " east line" and the "■ mid- 
dle (located) line," the excess of cost of construction of the former 
over the latter was found to be $216,817 instead of $163,027, as stated 
in the report, and that the excess, after being diminished by compen- 
sation of equated distance, &c., (by the process on page 20 of former 
report,) was $82,617 instead of $28,827, as there stated. 

As to the question whether this route occupies such ground as to 
free it from future injurious comi)etition by other interests seeking 
and occupying a better position — which is an all-important considera- 
tion in this enterprising age — I think it must be demonstrable to all 
who will examine the map and the face of the country that no fears need 
be entertained upon the subject. If this route should ever be super- 
seded, it will only be when the proprietors have failed to avail them- 
selves of the advantages that natur-e has conferred. It is clear to my 
mind, after thorough investigation, that the natural features of the 
country, as well as its great commercial and social interests, indicate, 
unmistakably, this route as one that cannot be supplanted, and one 
that ought long ago to have been occupied. Its advantages may be 
in some measure diminished by other improvements taking precedence 
of it, if such a thing should be permitted ; but as long as railroad 
transportation costs more on two miles than on one, or as long as the 
laws of gravitation remain in force, and it requires more steam, fuel, 
and power to drive an engine over heavy grades than comparatively 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 7 

liglit ones, this route must retain its real superiority for all the pur- 
poses for which it is designed. 

From the Baltimore and Ohio road to Hagerstown the route located 
upon is the best, it is believed, that can be found that will comply 
with the terms of the charter.* 

It is unavoidably more expensive, and rather less favorable as to 
grades and curves, than the route from Georgetown to the Baltimore 
and Ohio road, the maximum grades upon the latter being 50 feet per 
mile, and 66 feet upon the former. 

During the progress of the experimental surveys, it was ascertained 
that a line crossing the Baltimore and Ohio road further west, and 
connecting with the located line on the Catoctin mountain, west of 
Frederick, would reduce the cost of construction about $200,000, and 
shorten the distance about 6f miles. But this was not admissible 
under the charter, and hence could not be made available. When it 
is considered that a saving of distance of 6f miles is equivalent, in 
expenses of operation and maintenance, to a capital of $405,000, (at 
$60,000 per mile,) and to this is added $200,000 saved in cost of con- 
struction, making a total of $605,000, the economy ol the more direct 
line becomes strikingly obvious. 

The compensation for this must be found in the advantages of the 
route passing by way of the city of Frederick. 

This part of the route, as located, may be considered, in view of all 
the circumstances, a fortunate one, crossing two ranges of mountains 
and the intervening valleys with maximum grades of 66 feet per 
mile, and with curves of a large radius. It will well accommodate 
the rich and highly cultivated and populous portions of Maryland 
through which it extends. 

2d. 7 he Plans of the Work. 

These have been designed with reference to the greatest economy 
consistent with stability and safety. The principal mechanical struc- 
tures are those required in crossing the deep ravines and the channels 
of the larger streams. Where these occur, the formation is mostly 
rock, and but little earth is afforded by the contiguous excavations, 
within convenient distances, for forming embankments. The alterna- 
tive is therefore presented, of excavating rock for the embankments, 
or of substituting less expensive work in the form of bridging. 

The ravines are designed to be passed by trestle bridges, and the 
larger streams by truss bridges, or by truss and trestle bridges com- 
bined. 

On the line between Georgetown and the Baltimore and Ohio road, 
the principal trestle bridge is at Ten Mile creek ; it is 85 feet high at 
the highest place, and about 600 feet long. 

The principal stream crossed is the Monocacy river. The bed at 
the lowest place is 100 feet below the grade line of the road. A truss 
bridge of four spans, of 132 feet each, is designed for the water-way, 
connected with trestle work at the west shore of about 270 feet in 

■^' Which makes the city of Fredericlc a point on the route. 



8 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

length, and 50 in height. The masonry for the foundations is to be 
carried up to the highest water mark, about 30 feet, and the timber 
work is jdaced above. 

The design is, that the trestle work generally shall be replaced by 
embankments in the course of twelve to fifteen years, the materials 
for which can be obtained from earth excavations with far greater 
economy when the road is completed, than from rock excavations 
which are only available at the present time. The Monocacy bridge, 
by being suitably enclosed, will be rendered permanent, or if it should 
hereafter be re-built, the masonry, which is to be of the best descrip- 
tion, will be adapted to the erection of an iron superstructure, should 
that be preferred to wood. 

On the line between the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and Hagers- 
town, the principal structure will be at the crossing of the Catoctin 
creek, in the Middletown valley. It is designed to be trestle work ; 
the greatest height is 150 feet, and the entire length,, gradually di- 
minishing in height to the ends, about 1,200 feet. 

A bridge of one span of 100 feet is required to pass the Antietam 
creek between Funkstown and Hagerstown. 

The culverts and smaller bridges are to be of a permanent and sub- 
stantial character. 

The plans of the bridges have been thoroughly tested in practice, 
and. ibund to combine the qualities of great strength, durability and 
economy. The general design and details of the various structures 
can oiJ}' be fully understood by reference to the drawings, and a more 
particular description is therefore omitted. 

The earth work, in excavations for single track, is to have a width 
at the grade line of 20 feet, with side slopes, varying from 2 to 1 to I 
to 1, according to the kind of material, whether earth or rock. Em- 
bankments to be not less than 14 feet wide for single track, when 
finished to the grade line, with slopes of 2 to l,or li to 1. 

The tunnels to be not less than 17 feet high at the crown, and 16 
feet wide. 

There are three tunnels pro})Osed ; one between Georgetown and the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, of 800 feet, and two between the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad and Hagerstown, through the crests of the 
Catoctin and South mountains, of 1,825 feet and 2,200 feet respectively. 
Provision is made for artificial supports for the roofs, though it is not 
certain such supports will be required. 

3d. The Estimates. 

The estimate submitted in the former report was necessarily a hasty 
one, based upon j^reliminary surveys, and could not be regarded as 
more than an approximate statement of the cost of the work. This 
was all I aimed at, but, as then stated, " the aim was to err on the 
side of excess rather than the reverse." The revised estimate has 
since been made, independently of the former, and upon the final lo- 
cation of tlie road, with the aid of careful measurements and compu- 
tations, perfected plans, and a carefully studied regard to all the details 
and contingencies of construction. The result of this estimate, as com- 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



pared with the former, fully confirms the general correctness of that 
estimate. 

It is rather within the amount of the original, but not so much so as 
to induce me to vary from it. Therefore, the aggregate amounts of the 
estimate of 1854, as regards the two divisions of theroad,from George- 
town to the Baltimore and Ohio road, and from the Baltimore and Ohio 
road to Hagerstoiun, are submitted luiih great confidence, as being full 
and teliable under any probable contingencies. 

They are as follows, with the accurate distances of the located line : 





Distances 
in miles. 


Maximum 
grades in 
feet, per 
mile. 


Estimated 
cost. 


Georgetown to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 


41.24 
34.91 


50 
66 


$1,850,000 
1,865,000 


Baltimore and Oliio Railroad to Hagerstown.... .... .... 


Totals 




76.15 




$3,715,000 





This estimate includes grading, masonry and bridging, superstructure, 
right of ivay, station buildings and equipments, and general expenses. 
It provides for an equipment of 10 locomotives and a corresponding 
number of passenger and freight cars. On the first division, from 
Georgetown to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, the equipment would be 
sufficient for two through passenger trips, and one freight trip per day. 

The details of the estimate are not repeated here, as they can be 
referred to in the former report ; some of the items would be modified 
by the correction of the distances, but not materially. It will be seen 
that the distance on the first division has been shortened about half 
a mile, and on the whole line, about one mile, since the former report. 

Pursuant to public notice, proposals were received on the loth day 
of February last, for the grading, ma8<mry and bridging of 43| miles 
of the road, extending from the west line of the District of Columbia 
to the city of Frederick. Thirty-two separate proposals were received. 
Several of them, from res[:onsible contractors, were very much below 
the estimate for that part of the road, and these proposals stipulated 
ibr part payment — from 25 to 50 per cent — in the stock and bonds of 
the company. One proposal was received from contractors of known 
ability, who were strongly recommended, for the grading, superstruc- 
ture and track, complete from Georgetown to Frederick, which was 
also considerably below the estimate. They offered to take 50 per 
cent, in the bonds of the company. 

The Board thought proper to let only 20 miles of the road at that 
time, and the contract for that portion was awarded to Messrs. John 
S. Christie & Co., of New York, for a less sum than the estimate, they 
taking 25 per cent, in bonds of the company. 

The terms of the proposals tendered, and of the contract that has 
been entered into, wouUl warrant the conclusion that the entire work 
could be done very considerably within the estimated cost. Under 
any circumstances that may arise^ they would give good grounds for 



10 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

the belief that the work need not, at least, exceed the estimate, even 
if the estimate were not held as reliable for other reasons. 

Taking this evidence, together with what has before been assigned 
as the results of careful investigations, and with previous experience 
upon a work of similar extent, (which I had just brought to a close 
when my engagement was made upon this road,) I am fully re-assured 
in the conclusion, that the estimate is full and reliable ; that the road 
may be commenced and vigorously prosecuted without the fear of in- 
curring an unknown expenditure, and that the sum stated will be 
found a safe guide, with ordinary prudeuge, to the end of the work. 

I am the more desirous of impressing this subject upon your atten- 
tion, as it is the first important step in the undertaking, and is too 
often made the stumbling block to embarrass an enterprise of this 
kind. Many persons honestly distrust all estimates, and the enemies 
of a work seize upon them unscrupulously to accomplish its defeat or 
retard its progress. 

Other matters relating to the work can be more correctly weighed 
and scrutinized by the public, but the estimates are peculiarly within 
the province of the engineer, and upon the evidence and reasons he 
can render to establish their reliability, must dejiend, in a great meas- 
ure, the degree of confidence with which they are received and the 
success of the work they relate to. 

An additional reason for dwelling upon the estimates is, that Con- 
gress has been applied to for partial aid in the construction of the road, 
on that part lying within the District of Columbia. 

The valuable consideration offered renders it probable that the aid 
asked will be contributed, and the general government may thus be- 
come a direct participant in the undertaking, as it will clearly be, on 
the terms offered, a principal and almost gratuitous recipient of its 
benefits when completed.* 

On this ground I have thought it the more necessary to adduce all 
the reasons practicable to establish confidence in the estimates, and to 
place the basis of the work upon a foundation beyond the reach of 
distrust or cavil. If I succeed in this, it will be a satisfaction to know 
that one great obstacle to the success of the road has been removed. 

THE PROSPECTIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE ROAD. 

The remarks that were made under this head in the former report 
have been found, by subsequent and more extended observation, to be 
not merely correct, but to fall far short of the merits of the subject. 
The great utility of the road, and the consequences that are to flow 
from it, are topics upon which too much can scarcely be said, or be 
too strongly said, and upon which the most sanguine expectations can 

^ The company propose in their memorial to Congress, as a consideration for aid in the 
construction of that part of the road witliin tlie District of Columbia, to transport the 
mails, troops, military stores, &c., over the entire road forever, without charge. The 
present cost of this service to the general government I have not been able to ascertain, 
but it is believed to be sucli an amount that, if annually saved to the government, would 
reimburse the appropriation desired in 15 to 20 years. At the expiration of that time the 
service would be rendered, whatever extent it might assume, gratuitously— -/orefer. 



METEOPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 11 

scarcely fail of being realized. It is difficult to conceive how other 
conclusions can be formed after giving the subject a thorough exami- 
nation. 

There are few public enterprises projected in this country that have 
stronger reasons to urge them onward, or clearer results awaiting their 
consummation. 

The following views will, I think, make this tolerably clear : 

Any person who has been an attentive observer of the general pro- 
gress of railroads throughout the country must have been struck by 
the singular fact, that while nearly every one of the principal com- 
mercial and political centres of the country elsewhere has been made 
the magical focus of numerous railroads, our capital city has as yet 
but the imperfect benefit of one. But one of the many lines, spread- 
ing out like a net-work over the country, has as yet reached the seat 
of government. 

It would have been held as a just cause of reproach if, in times past, 
the construction of common roads had been neglected, and the commu- 
nications with the capital rendered inferior to those of a like character 
Sjiread far and wide over other portions of the country. 

Is it less cause for reproach now, when human ingenuity has so 
wonderfully changed the character of those communications, that they 
are neglected ? Whatever may be said in extenuation of the fact, it 
is strikingly obvious that, in the general march of improvement as 
regards railroads, the facilities of railroad communication, and all the 
benefits derived from their use, the cities of Washington and George- 
town, and the District of Columbia are far, far behind the progress 
of the age. 

While this is undeniably and practically true^ there has been, 
nevertheless, growing up and gradually developing, on all sides, from 
the working of inevitable causes, the elements of a comprehensive sys- 
tem of improvements, having for their ultimate and appropriate centre 
the city of Washington. To illustrate this, let any person take up the 
map accompanying the former report, (or any other general railroad 
map,) and taking the city of Washington as a centre, draw the follow- 
ing lines, radiating like her broad and magnificent avenues towards 
the different sections of the Union. 

1st. The eastern line. — The only one upon which a chain of com- 
munication is now complete — extending, ivith remarkable accuracy^ 
through or near the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New 
Haven to Boston, and, by a slight deflection at the latter point, com- 
pleting the seaboard line in that direction to the eastern extremity of 
the Union. 

2d. The northern line. — Upon which a connected chain is nearly 
completed — following mainly the meridian of Washington and the 
valleys of the Susquehanna and its tributaries, and terminating at 
Sodus bay, on Lake Ontario. 

cd. The northivestern line — Which requires for its final develop- 
ment the completion of the Pittsburg and Connellsville railroad, and 
the southern division of the Metropolitan, from the Baltimore and 
Ohio road to Washington. It extends, icith great directness, through 
or near Harper's Ferry, Cumberland, and Pittsburg to Cleveland, on 



12 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

Lake Erie, and thence, with slijiht deflections, to Toledo^ Chicago, 
Rock Island, on the Mississippi, Council Bluffs, &c 

4th. The loestern line — Coinciding mainly with the 39th parallel, 
and taking in its course, by way of Parkersburg, on the Ohio river, 
Cincinnati, St. Louis, &c. It is mainly completed, the Metropolitan 
and a few other links only remaining to be perfected. 

5th. The southwestern line — May be drawn from Washington 
through Knoxville, Tennessee, and if prolonged, with some de- 
flections and diverging lines, will pass through Jackson, the capital 
of Mississippi, and extend, by probably the most direct route, to New 
Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, 

This line is distinctly marked, by existing roads and those in pro- 
gress, and by the natural features of the country, as far south as the 
State of Alabama, and is clearly indicated beyond to its chief point of 
attraction. New Orleans.* 

6th. The southern line — Extends direct to Wilmington, North Caro- 
lina, passing through or near Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Richmond, 
Petersburg, &c. Diverging from Wilmington, it has an indirect ex- 
tension to Mobile. It is all in actual operation, it is believed, through 
indirect connexions, from Alexandria to Mobile. One important 
direct connexion of the line remains to be made between Alexandria 
and Fredericksburg, or from the junction of the Orange and Alex- 
andria and Manasses Grap railroads to Fredericksburg. 

It may be thought, at a first glance, that the system here indicated, 
composed of the six loregoing lines, is somewhat imaginary, and par- 
takes of the ideal character of " air-lines" in general. But examina- 
tion and reflection will, I think, correct the impression. The several 
lines and links are, for the most part, fully developed, and to a great 
extent in operation. The first four (Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4) are so clearly 
defined by the natural features of the country, as well as by established 
commercial advantages, as to admit of no doubt as to the correctness 
of the position assigned them. 

Between the main western and southwestern lines there may be 
competitors, but the competing lines will fall into the main line indi- 
cated long before they approach the capital. 

The tendency of all the lines is, to concentrate and unite in the city 
of Washington the great central point. Here they must form a har- 
monious combination, depositing and interchanging their passengers 
and freight from the most distant parts of the country and from here, 
send off again the untiring locomotive to its remote destination. The 
union should be effected in a manner every way worthy of such a sys- 
tem, and creditable to the capital city of the country. The question 
is, hoio shall it he done so as best to subserve the individual and recipro- 
cal interests of the several lines, and the equally important local interests 
of the District cities. 

Practically, but three lines or main stems of the system will neces- 
sarily communicate directly with the city of Washington, and these 
are all that it will be necessary to consider at present. 

*■' A more direct connexioQ is wanted betweea the Virginia Central and Southwestern 
railroul«, from Rock Fish Gap, in the Blue Ridge, to James river, near 13 Jchanan, or from 
Charlottesville to Lynchburg. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 13 

The one from the north (and east) is properly the Washington 
Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad ; the one from the ivest 
(and northwest) is the Metropolitan, in connexion with the Baltimore 
and Ohio road, &c. ; and the one from the south (and southwest) may 
be regarded as merely the short link, under whatever name it may 
take, that is to connect Alexandria with Washington. 

That these three stems are directly and mutually interested in the 
connexion to be formed no one will be inclined to doubt, and through 
them and the successful result they are to accomplish must be attained 
the success, completeness, and harmonious operation of the extended 
lines with which they are connected. 

The northern stem is already completed to the city of Washington, 
but here it stops, disconnected and imperfect. The Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad, the principal line interested in it, and a great work 
that has surmounted every other obstacle by the most undaunted per- 
severance, has paused here and left the task unfinished. 

A southern connexion, without which the Baltimore and Ohio road 
must ever remain incomplete, seems to have bafSed the energies that 
have subdued the rugged Alleghanies. The principal barrier in the 
way has been the crossing of the Potomac. 

But one route seems to have engaged attention, which was full of 
difficulties, while another, which would have solved the problem and 
made the way clear, has been overlooked. 

The surveys for the Metropolitan Railroad have clearly shown, I 
think, that the proper place for crossing the Potomac is through the 
outskirts of Washington, by way of Georgetown, to the head of navi- 
gation at or a little above the Alexandria aqueduct. 

This route is practicable, and avoids hitherto insuperable difficulties. 
In a general enumeration of its advantages it will be found preferable 
to that by the " Long Bridge^" which has so long been a "vexed 
question." By it the delays and dangers of two drawbridges, so 
much and so justly dreaded by the travelling community, will be 
avoided; no obstructions will be caused to navigation and commerce, 
and no risks incurred from floods and ice. If the actual distance 
should be increased three miles between Alexandria and Washington, 
it will be more than compensated by other advantages ; in fact, the 
actual time of transit between the two places will not be materially 
affected ; it is the difference between a probable and vexatious delay 
of uncertain extent at two drawbridges, in connexion ivith a bridge of 
a mile in length, and the time required for a train to pass over two 
and a half or three miles of unobstructed road. 

If the question were put to one thousand passengers as to which 
contingency they would prefer it is doubtful whether a single one 
would be found to prefer the risk of the drawbridges. 

Another consideration, aside from the fact that Congress has firmly 
withheld assent to the project of crossing the Long Bridge by railroad, 
is that serious doubts have arisen as to whether that bridge can be 
long safely maintained for even the purposes for which it ivas const? ucted. 

It is alleged that it obstructs the natural flow of the river, and is 
the cause of accumulating deposits, which are not only impairing the 



14 METROPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY. 

navigation, but are likely to have a deleterious effect upon the health 
of the city of Washington. 

It is evident, upon an inspection of the chart of this part of the 
river, that a great accumulation of deposits has taken place since the 
bridge was erected. Where but a few years ago there was deep water 
it is now comparatively shoal ; bars that were of small dimensions 
are now greatly enlarged and extended, and small shoals have grown 
into large mud flats of some hundreds of acres in extent, which are 
exposed at every ebb tide. 

To what extent the long bridge is chargeable with producing these 
changes, or what serious consequences they may lead to, a full inves- 
tigation only can determine. It is certain, however, that the bridge, 
occupying as it does about two-thirds of the natural water-way of the 
river, at right angles with its course, must exert an influence, in some 
degree, upon the deposits and shoals that are forming above it. 

The i'ree and natural navigation of the Potomac is a matter of deep 
and almost vital interest to the city of Georgetown, and the preserva- 
tion of the public health is equally important to the city of Washing- 
ton and the general government. It cannot be doubted that Congress 
will guard, with vigilant care, the interests of both cities in these 
respects, and promptly take such measures as the circumstances may 
call for to preserve the navigation to the one, and promote the best 
sanitary condition of the other. 

It is apparent that, if no other means are devised, recourse must 
soon be had to a general system of dykes, dams, and dredging for 
this purpose ; but these are at best only temporary expedients, which 
must be constantly and perpetually repeated to be effectual. 

From this view of the subject, and taking all other essential ques- 
tions into consideration, it seems, not only as a matter of choice, but 
of necessity, that no practical idea can be entertained of establishing 
a railroad connexion between Washington and Alexandria by any 
other route than that by way of Georgetown. 

By uniting upon this route, all conflicting interests, real or 
imaginary, may be dissipated or merged into an enterprise for the 
general good. Uncertainties will give place to certainties, and a long 
and profitless dependance upon an impracticable scheme will be 
replaced by the actual realization and enjoyment of practical benefits. 

The details of this route may be arranged without serious difficulty. 
It can pass through the suburbs of Washington and through a portion 
of Georgetown, where very little inconvenience will be caused by the 
trains to the proper point for crossing the Potomac, and thence direct 
to Alexandria. To avoid the chief expense of constructing a bridge, 
and facilitate the early completion of the line, which are objects that 
many persons consider of great importance, it will be entirely practi- 
cable to cross the Potomac, at first, by means of the Alexandria aque- 
duct, (and there is no reason why it may not be made permanently 
available,) without impairing that structure for canal uses. 

In doing this, I suppose, of course, that full assent will be given 
to the measure, by the proper authorities, under necessary restric- 
tions, &c. 

The main part of the work, from Washington to Georgetown, will 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 15 

be a component part of the Metropolitan road, according to the general 
design, which embraces a connexion with the Washington Branch 
road, and so much of the track will enure to the common benefit of 
all the roads concerned, in the connexion with Alexandria. The other 
portion of the work will be a matter of joint arrangement, upon which 
the expenses of construction may be so distributed as to render tho 
whole comparatively light and easy. 

Here, then, we have the long sought desideratum of a connexion of 
northern and southern lines. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad has 
accomplished the anxiously desired achievement of a connexion ot its 
main branch with a southern road. 

But this is not all the advantage to be gained by the Baltimore and 
Ohio road. It is only a part. The " main stem" of that road will 
have a greatly improved connexion with the capital, the south and 
southwest, by means of the Metropolitan road and the communication 
with Alexandria. Not only this, but it may be clearly shown that its 
general passenger business, between the west and Baltimore, may be 
greatly influenced by the Metropolitan road. 

With regard to the southern and southwestern connexions of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio road, by means of the Metropolitan, the advantages will 
be made apparent by the following comparison of distances, grades, 
expense, time, &c. : 

The present distance by the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
road, from the point of connexion (east of the Point 
of Rocks) with the Metropolitan road, by way of the 
Relay House, &c., to Washington, at the point of 
proposed connexions, is 87 miles. 

The distance by the Metropolitan road is 41 " 



Distance saved by Metropolitan road is 46 



ti 



The maximum grades, by the Baltimore and Ohio ^ 

railroad, up the rugged Patapsco, passing the sum- 
mit of Purr's ridge, and descending to the Monocacy 
river, are, as near as I have been able to learn 80 ft. per mile. 

The maximum grades by the Metropolitan 50 " 

Difference in grades 30 *' 

The curves, on about 50 miles of the last described por- 
tion of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, are very 
numerous and of short radius, that part of the road 
having been built at an early day, when curves of 
400 to 600 feet radius were not considered objection- 
able The curves on the Metropolitan are mostly of 
one mile radius, the shortest is 1,910 feet ; and upon 
all the curves lull speed of the trains may be main- 
tained. The proportional expense or cost of trans- 
portation by the two routes, as governed by the ex- 



16 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

cess of linear distance alone, would be as 87 to 41, 
(or 112 per cent, over the latter.) Adding: to this 
the difference due to the higher grades and great 
amount of curvature, short curves, &c., by a fair 
process of equating, will make the whole excess of 
cost of transportation by the Baltimore and Ohio road, 
over that by the 3Ictropolitan, about 168 per cent. 

Or, in other words, if a ton of freight, or a passenger, 
transported around by the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
road, the Relay House, &c., to Washington, would 
cost, on 87 miles, (at present passenger rates,)... $3 20 

The same would cost, by the direct line of the Metro- 
politan, of 41 miles 1 20 

Difference in cost, per passenger or ton of freight 2 00 



The time required by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 
at rather over the present average rates of running, 
would be 4 h. 25 m. 

By the Metropolitan, at same rate, it would be 2 h. 15 
m.; but no one can doubt that the superior grades 
and line of this road will enable trains to be run over 
41 miles in less time than 2 h. 15 m. The time 
may safely be put, for express trains, at 1 h. 10 m. 

Difference in time 3 h. 15 m. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



17 



Note. — Diagram illmt rating the two routes to Georgetown and Washington. 

From Junction near Point of Eocks, via Relay, to Washington — distance, 87 miles; 
maximum grade, 80 feet; cost per ton of freight, or per passenger, $3 20; time 4h. 25m. 



'Point of Rocks." 



Junction 




% 

From Junction near n/\.^ 
Poiut of Eocks to \!^\.<^ 

"Washington. 

Distance 41 miles ''^ 

Max. grades 50 feet 

Cost per ton of freight, or per 

passenger ". $1 20 

Time Ih. 10m. 




WASHINGTON. 



This comparison is intended only as an approximate one, aiming, 
however, to keep safely within the facts. I have not been able to 
obtain the data requisite for a more exact comparison ; but it is not 
necessary. 

The results are sufficiently conclusive, as regards the importance to 
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad of the Metropolitan connexion, and 
the practical advantages to be derived from it, with respect to the 
southern and southwestern business. 

Such a connexion must have an important influence upon the 
business and travel from that direction, destind to the west, by way 
of the Baltimore and Ohio road. A much larger traffi^c would be 
encouraged, in proportion to the greater facilities of communication 
and the reduction of time and expense. 

The travel and freight destined to the cities of Georgetown and 

H. Kep. Com. 565—2 



18 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

Washington, (or in the reverse directionj) it is scarcely necessary to 
say^ would seek the Metropolitan road. This alone is no incon- 
siderable item. It is, in fact, sufficient, with the local business, to 
give a fair support to the Metropolitan road. Upon this subject, 
however, an exhibit was given in the former report, to which refer- 
ence is here made. 

The other view, that the Meiropolltan road luill injiuence the main 
loestern travel upon the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, not only to and 
from the south and soufhivesf, hut to and from Baltimore and points 
further north, may he illustrated as follows : 
The present distance, Irom the point of intersec- 
tion of the Metropolitan road with the Balti- 
more and Ohio, to Baltimore, is 62| miles. 

By the Metropolitan, by way of the city of Wash- 
ington, the Washington Branch, &c., it is... 82f miles. 
But this may be reduced from 3 to 5 miles, say 3 " 



Making the actual distance 79| 



And the excess of linear distance by the Metro- 
politan 17 miles. 



This difference will be more than compensated 
or counterbalanced by adding (as in the former 
instance) to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad 
the practical or equated excess of distance due 
to the higher grades, greater amount of curva- 
ture, and more expensive working of that 
road. Thus, if the 17 miles less actual distance 
of the Baltimore and Ohio road give it an ad- 
vantage over the Metropolitan of 27 per cent,, 
it will be counterbalanced by the advantages 
of the Metropolitan, in grades, &c., as before 
assumed, of at least 50 per cent. The differ- 
ence will be m favor of the cost of transporta- 
tion bv the latter route 23 — say 20 per cent. 

This will give the relative cost of transporting 
a passenger over the two routes, as follows : 

Ifthe cost by the Baltimore and Ohio road is $2 30 

It will be by the Metropolitan, by way of Wash- 
ington, the Washington Branch road, &c., to 
Baltimore 1 90 



Difference, per passenger, in favor of Metropolitan 

and Washington route 40 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 19 

Next as to time. Taking the present average rate 

by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, say 3 h. 15 m. 

And the rate that may be reasonably assumed 

for the route by the Metropolitan, &c., of 35 

miles ])er hour, or 2 h. 15 m. 



And we have a diference of time in favor of Me- 
tropolitan^ (fc, of 1 hour. 



By this statement it appears, strange as it may seem to those who 
have never examined the subject, that a route from near the Point of 
Rocks, by way of Washington, to Baltimore, is in reality cheaper, atso 
cost of transportation, and better time can be made upon it, than by 
the present road which has so long been in use. If the comparison 
is approximately correct, which is all I claim for it — and I submit it 
to candid public criticism, believing that an accurate developement of 
all the data will place the results in a still stronger light — it affords 
the most striking evidence of the advantages and the necessity of the 
Metropolitan road. 

If expense and time can be saved by the entire western travel of the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, passing by way of the city of Washing- 
ton to Baltimore, and to this is added the other strong inducements 
in favor of the route, what, I ask, is to prevent it from going that way? 

Who will be willing to bear the onerous tax of the more expensive 
route? or, where will be found a sufficient compensation to me^t it? 
The annual sum may be easily computed, and will be found to be a 
very appreciable item. What temptation can be offered to counter- 
vail a saving of expense and time,, and induce passengers to avoid the 
^[etropolitan route, the cities of Greorgetown and Washington, and 
the interesting scenery of the vicinity and surrounding country, the 
national Capitol and public buildings, the unsurpassed views of the 
Potomac, the Washington aqueduct and its great reservoirs, which, 
are in full view for several miles along the route, and many other ob- 
jects of great public interest ? None, I think, within the range of 
human probability. 

The result may be an unlooked for one, but it is one that must 
arise from natural and inevitable causes. Nature has conferred more 
advantages upon one route than upon the other. One has been physi- 
cally adapted, in a high degree, to the construction and favorable 
working of a railroad. The other has not been so fortunate. 

Nothing but the reversal of these advantages can prevent a very 
large portion, at least, of the through-travel, between Baltimore and 
the west, from taking the Metropolitan route. 

A practical case may be cited similar to this, though on a somewhat 
more extended scale. 

The two great railroad lines of New York — the New York and Efie 
and the Central railroads — became competitors for the western 
trade and travel. 

The length of the former is 460 miles from New York to Dunkirk 



20 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

on Lake Erie, and the length of the latter (with its connexions) be- 
tween the same points was, until quite recently, 523 miles,* 

The projectors of the New York and Erie road — looking at the dif- 
ference of distance, and at the map, which showed a still greater ap- 
parent advantage — regarded it as a great cnt-ofF, as compared with 
the Central line, and were sanguine of the most unlimited success. 
The great mass of the stockholders in the city of New York, with 
scarcely an exception, could not be made to believe that so striking a 
disparity in distance could be affected, much less overcome, by any 
advantages possessed by the Central line. This was a well-known 
and long-cherished error. 

What has been the result ? The Central line had a route marked 
out, in a remarkable manner^ by nature, with light grades and low 
elevations, and comparatively cheap construction. The New York 
and Erie road had to overcome mountains and cross deep valleys, by 
a Icng succession of elevations and depressions, high grades and a tor- 
tuous direction. These formidable obstacles icere overcome, but the 
laws of gravitation were not, A compensation for supposed advan- 
tages in distance was found, which has been, and must ever be, a draw- 
back upon the success of that road, as regards competition with its 
more fortunate rival. The Ntiu York Central has maintained its pas- 
senger business tinimpaired, and, at times, it has drawn of almost the 
entire through-travel from the Neiv York and Erie road. 

But the advancing growth of the country and demands of traffic 
are rapidly supplying both roads with an amount of business that 
must soon be quite up to their full capacity. 

This is an instance, strongly illustrative of the superiority of all 
railroads, having a moderate aggregate amount of elevations and de- 
pressions to overcome, with light and easy curvature, over those not 
possessed of such natural advantages. f 

The idea of a diversion of business from a portion of the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad will at first appear quite objectionable to those in- 
terested in that road ; but if all the circumstances in the case are fully 
weighed, it will appear in a difierent light. 

As regards the diversion of that portion of the western business 
destined to and from the cities of Georgetoion and Washington, the 
south and southwest, it is but a choice (perhaps remotely) of two evils. 
The question is merely whether it will be better to permit (and en- 
courage ?) the Metropolitan road to take a certain amount of the busi- 
ness from 85 miles of the road, (and branch,) or incur the risk of the 
projected Alexandria, Hampshire, and Loudoun road, taking it from 
the same portion, and 143 miles superadded, or, in all, 228 miles. 

The construction of the Metropolitan road will remove the latter 
contingency, wliich, without this road, is as certain as that the Alex- 
andria, Hampshire, and Loudoun road will be built. 

The following statement of distances will make this appear : 

*It has recently been reduced by new lines. 

fA profitless competition is going on, just at tliis time, letween these two lines, which 
may seem, to a casual observer, tu anfliei witli the statemeiit I have made, but tlie general 
fact is not in the least affected. A temporary policy (of very doubtful expediency) may 
induce a railroad company to run their trains, for a time, at unreniunerative fares, but it 
does not affect the general principle or the facts that have leen stated. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 21 

The distance from Piedmont, on the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad, to Washington, via the Alexandria, Hamp- 
shire, and Loudoun road, Alexandria, &c., is, accord- 
ing to the report 181 miles. 

The distance from Piedmont to Washington, by Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad. Relay House, and Washington 
Branch, is 228 '« 

Difference in favor of Alexandria, Hampshire, and Lou- 
doun road 47 '* 

The distance from Cumberland to Washington, by Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad and the Metropolitan, is 156 miles. 

The distance from Cumberland to Washington, via Pied- 
mont, the Alexandria, Hampshire, and Loudoun road, 
&c., is 181, added to 28 miles, equal to 209 '' 

Difference in favor of Baltimore and Ohio and Metropo- 
litan 53 " 



The latter difference of distance shows the advantage to the Balti- 
more and Ohio road of the connexion with the Metropolitan road. 

It is probable that the increase of western business, induced by the 
improvement and shortening of the route to the capital, &c., and the 
reduction of time and expense by the Metropolitan road, will repay 
the Baltimore and Ohio road for the diversion caused by it. 

As to the diversion of passengers destined to Baltimore and points 
further north, from the eastern portion of the Baltimore and Ohio 
road, between the Point of Rocks and the Relay House, it will be the 
means of relieving (very desirably, it would be supposed) that much- 
overburdened and expensive part of the road. The necessity for addi- 
tional tracks would be obviated. The heavy and increasing coal trade 
of the road, with the slow trains, will task sufficiently the capacity of 
that part of the road ; it is better adapted to that kind of business, 
and it is believed (and I think has been demonstrated) that it would 
be economy on the part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 
for all their through passenger trains to take the Metropolitan route 
to Baltimore. If it is true economy, and time is gained by it, then 
why must not such an arrangement result in great advantage to the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad interest, especially in view of the compe- 
tition of its great rival lines for the western travel ? 

It has now been shown what degree of importance attaches to the 
Metropolitan road in regard to the development and successful opera- 
tion of a principal part of the system of improvements heretofore de- 
scribed, (embracing the several lines of railroads tending to the city 
of Washington from the east, north, northwest, and west,) and its 
influence upon the cities of Georgetown and Washington. 

It remains to notice a few points connected with the other portions 
of the system, the stem connecting the city of Alexandria with the 
central pointy and the interest that city has in the matter, &c. 



22 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

The great facilities enjoyed by Alexandria for inland and coast 
trade, with a favorable position in other resjjects, surrounds it with 
the elements of great commercial prosperity. These her enterprising 
citizens have already turned to good account. With their growing 
commerce and railroads, in operation and in prospect, they have be- 
come fully alive to the necessity of supplying, in some way, the im- 
portant link tliat is to connect them with the city of Washington. 
The absence of this link givcR them a partial isolation, and breaks the 
circuit of free and unrestricted intercourse, without which all other 
improvements are, in a great measure, de[)rived of their proper vitality. 

The manner in which this link should be supplied, the proper route 
it should take, &c., has already been fully discussed. The reasons 
assigned, in favor of the only route believed to be practicable, com- 
mend themselves as strongly to Alexandia as to Washington or 
Georgetown. 

The interest of all is to obtain ilie best route under all the circum- 
stances ; and if it is the best, the one adapted to all the exigencies 
and necessities of the case, any merely local or individual preferences 
that may stand in the way must, I imagine^ yield to the general 
good. 

In anticipation of the route to which I have referred — that by the 
way of Georgetown, &c. — Congress (not only refusing to sanction the 
route by the " Long Bridge ") has granted the privilege of construct- 
ing a railroad within the District limits to the proper point for cross- 
ing the Potomac at Georgetown. 

The act was obtained chiefly at the solicitation of citizens of Vir- 
ginia and Washington. 

It was doubtless granted with a view to consolidate and harmonize 
all conflicting interests, and to accomplish the greatest good to the 
several cities. 

I am not aware that any objection has been raised against the ob- 
jects or privileges granted by the act. 

A corresponding privilege has been conferred, it is understood, by 
the legislature of Virginia, to extend the line of railroad from the 
point contemplated by Congress for the crossing of the Potomac to 
Alexandria. 

The privileges are wise and liberal in their design, and are too im- 
portant not to be made available with all practicable despatch. 

The following reasons, among many others, may be adduced to 
show the necessity of this communication to Alexandria : 

The great inconvenience to public travel between the north and 
south, in consequence of the break in the route between Washington 
and Alexandria, has induced an incorporated company to explore a 
route along the western shore of the Chesapeake bay from Baltimore 
to a point on the Potomac opposite Acquia creek, about 49 miles be- 
low Alexandria. It is understood that a favorable route has been 
found, and that steps are being taken to carry the project into execu- 
tion. 

The effect of this would be, as is clearly seen by its originators, to 
divert the entire northern and southern through-travel from Alex- 
andria. It is but one of the many enterprises of the present day that 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 23 

find tbeir origin and encouragement in the neglect to improve other 
and more important routes. The object is laudable in itself, and 
creditable to the foresight of those who have embarked in it. But it 
is not to be believed that Alexandria will permit it to derive its 
success from her neglect and indifference. Before that road is 
brought into use, and public travel diverted, the short and compara- 
tively inexpensive link should be supplied between Alexandria and 
the capital. 

It is apparent that the route from Baltimore, by way of Acquia 
creek, would possess some peculiar advantages, and it is therefore the 
more important that the connecting link of northern and southern 
roads within the District should be not only promptly supplied, but 
made in the most perfect manner practicable. 

To possess the requisite comparative advantages, it should have no 
ferries or drmv-hridges to obstruct it, and should be made to har- 
monize with, and give efficiency to, all roads having mutual interests 
with it ; in short, it should blend ivith, and form an essential part and 
closing link of, the entire ' 'system ' ' of railroads concentrating at the 
city of Washington. 

Who can contemplate with complacency the progress of a work 
that is designed to cut off (not only the city of Alexandria but) all 
the District cities and the capital ot the Union from the great high- 
way between the north and the south, to isolate these cities and leave 
them only their limited local resources for their sustenance and 
prosperity? The idea involves an absurdity too apparent to be com- 
mented upon. 

Here, at the head of tide-water of the famed and beautiful Po- 
tomac, where of right belongs, and should be built up, as designed 
by the great Washington, a splendid mart of commerce,* drawing 
its contributions from the north, the south, and the prolific, un- 
bounded west, and sending forth its varied influences to the extremes 
of the Union, that a momentary check to the general prosperity 
should be suffered for the want of a proper spirit of enterprise, is not 
to be supposed by any intelligent person. 

The citizens of Alexandria cannot fail, in accordance with their 
characteristic enterprise, to perform their part in the completion of 
the necessary work in the most prompt and judicious manner. 

Although much more remains to be said upon this subject, going 
to show the importance of the Metropolitan railroad, as regards the 
prosperity of the District cities, and the success of the several railroads 
with which it is so intimately connected, it is not within the limits of 
this report, and I therefore bring it to a close with a recapitulation of 

^It has been well remarked that it is n t too late to carry out this idea which was coaceived 
by the sagacious mind of Washington. Although its execution has been tardy and delayed by 
mistaken polrcy, yet the geographical position of the District cities, in connexion with the 
navigable waters of the Potomac, and the natural advantages of the shortest route communi- 
cating with the Ohio river and the west, renders the object attainable. If these advantages 
had been improved, in accordance with the policy marked out by General Washington, three- 
quarters of a century ago, there might have been now, at the head of the tide- waters of the 
Potomac, a great commercial city like that of New York .' That city has been built up by im- 
proving similar advantages, and from the commerce of the west which its superior enterprise 
diverted from the Potomac. 



^A METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

some of the points that have been stated and the conclusions arising 
from them, viz : 

1. The Metropolitan railroad is an essential part of the system of rail- 
roads centering at the seat of the general government, and the successfid 
completion and operation of the system depends upon the construction of 
this road. 

2. Hie full development of the advantages and true policy of the Balti- 
more and Ohio railroad demands its constrtiction. 

3. Tlie local interests of the cities of Georgetown, Washington, and 
Alexandria, are dependent upon it. 

4. When completed it will exercise an infuence upon these cities equal 
to the most sanguine expectations. 

5. It will, most undoubtedly, he a remunerating road ; it can he com- 
pleted without exceeding the estimates, and zvhatever may he present de- 
lays and difficulties the inducements for its construction are too great to 
douht that it will he huilt. 

Let its energetic projectors, who have as yet been undaunted by any 
obstacles, still persevere ; they will reap a rich reward. 

I take the occasion to again bear testimony to the professional char- 
acter and services of Messrs. R. W. Burgess and William Millar, who 
have been my principal assistants, and also to the faithful performance 
of minor duties by the engineer corps generally. 
Respectfully submitted. 

WILLIAM H. GRANT, 

Acting Chief Engineer. 



No. 2. 

Memorial of a select committee of the directors of the Metropolitan Rail- 
road Company to the Congress of the United States in relation to 
railways in Washington and Georgetown. 

To the honorable (he Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 
(f America in Congress assembled : 

The memorial of Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, David English, William 
H. Edes, Adolphus H. Pickrell, and Ferdinand W. Risque — the 
first-named president, and the others directors, of the Metropolitan 
railroad — respectfully represents : 

That they have been selected by their co-directors to prepare and 
present to the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives a 
statement of facts in relation to the said company, by which the minds 
of senators may be disabused, and all the unfavorable impressions 
heretofore formed or expressed by them removed or corrected. In 
making this statement, they disclaim any intention of reflecting upon 
the characters or impugning the motives of the two honorable sena- 
tors, members of the Committee on the District of Columbia, who 
participated in the debate on the city railway bills in the Senate on 
Saturday last ; but claim the right, as American citizens, to correct 



METROPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY. 25 

the errors of fact into which the senators above referred to have fallen, 
for want of reliable, true, and correct information in relation to the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

On the 3d day of March, 1853, an act of Congress was approved in- 
corporating the Georgetown and Catoctin Railroad Company, which 
declares "that whenever the State of Maryland shall by law incorpo- 
rate a company to lay out and construct a railroad from any point, in 
connexion with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, at or near the 
Point of Kocks, to Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, the right 
of way, not exceeding sixty-six feet wide, be, and is hereby, granted 
to such company." — (See said act, Appendix A.) 

The Metropolitan Railroad Company, being such a company aswa& 
contemplated by the act of Congress aforesaid, was chartered on the 
5th day of May, 1853^ by an act of the legislature of Maryland, which 
act of incorporation was subsequently amended by the legislature of 
the State aforesaid on the 6th of March, 1856. — (See those acts, Ap- 
pendix B and C.) 

By the 13th section of the act of incorporation of the Metropolitan 
Railroad Company it was provided " that no dividend of the earnings 
of said road shall be paid to the stockholders until the entire road is- 
completed to Hagerstown ;" but by the first section of the act amenda- 
tory thereto it is provided that it shall not be necessary to complete 
the said railroad to Hagerstown before any dividends of the net profits 
arising from the business of said company shall be declared. This 
section of the act was considered very onerous by the stockholders, 
and prevented many persons from taking stock in the said company ; 
but the amendatory act of the 6th March, 1856, gave additional 
strength and encouragement to the president and directors of said 
company. 

Books of subscription to the stock of the said company were opened 
by the commissioners named in the said act, and ten thousand shares 
of the stock having been subscribed, amounting to |500,000, the 
necessary steps were taken to organize the said company by the 
election of president and directors. 

By an ordinance of the boards of aldermen and common council of 
Georgetown, approved by Henry Addison, then mayor of said town, 
on the 11th day of June, 1853, the said mayor was authorized to sub- 
scribe in their name for five thousand shares of said stock, equal to 
|250,000. — (See said ordinance, Appendix D.) That subscription 
was accordingly made by the said mayor, in obedience to the said 
ordinance. 

By an ordinance of the same boards, approved by the said mayor 
on the 23d day of July, 1853, the following gentlemen, viz: David 
English, Evan Lyons, Robert P. Dodge, William H. Edes, and Wal- 
ter S. Cox, or a majority of them, were appointed as proxies to vote 
the stock of the said town, at any meeting of the stockholders of the 
said company. — (See said ordinance, Appendix E ) 

The boards of aldermen and common council of the town aforesaid 
refused to appoint Henry Addison, then mayor, as one of the proxies, 
aforesaid, to vote their stock. 

In the message of the said mayor, Henry Addison, of the 24th of 



26 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

February, 1854, he says : "In view of these facts our first effort should 
he to maintain our credit unimpaired, by getting Congress to sanction 
the railroad subscription and remove all questions as to its legality. 
That was done when we subscribed the same amount to the Chesa- 
peake and Ohio canal, and without it no loan could have been possibly 
effected. * * * j^jy recommendation, then, is that we ask Con- 
gress to sanction that subscription." Application was accordingly 
maile to Congress, upon the recommendation of said mayor, in relation 
to the railroad subscription aforesaid, and on the 2d day of March, 
1855, an act was approved, "in order to meet the engagements re- 
cently assumed by said town in subscribing to the stock of the Metro- 
politan Railroad Company." — (See said act. Appendix F.) 

After the election of the president and directors of the said company, 
the first instalment of $25,000, upon the stock subscribed by the said 
town, was paid. On the 21st of June, 1856, the corporation of George- 
town passed an ordinance to pay the second instalment on their sub- 
scription to the stock of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, which 
was vetoed by the mayor, Henry Addison ; but the said ordinance 
was passed, notwithstanding the veto, by a two thirds majority. — (See 
said ordinance. Appendix G.) The said mayor then proclaimed that 
he would not sign the bonds of the corporation to meet this second 
instalment, and did not afterwards sign the same. 

After the passage of the act of Congress of March 2, 1855, above 
noticed, Henry Addison, in his address " To the people of George- 
town," in the same year, on pages 12 and 13, uses the following 
language : " If I have succeeded in showing that our subscription was 
without authority of law, and therefore inoperative and void, how can 
the corporation be compelled to pay any such subscription? If it was 
void when made, it is forever void. It is simply absurd to say that 
an act done, performed and completed in June, 1853, is illegal, inope- 
rative, and void at that time, and yet that it is legal, operative, and 
binding at any subsequent time. A void act cannot be confirmed. It 
is not in the power ot Congress, even, to declare that an illegal and 
void act done and performed in June, 1853, should be valid and binding 
at a future day." 

On page 33 of said address Mr. Addison uses the following lan- 
guage: "I always believed that it was at the suggestion of Mr. 
Dodge, (the president of tlie Metropolitan road,) and to gratify his 
personal animosity to myself, that the board of common counsel ex- 
cluded me from all connexion with the affairs of that road. I felt that 
I had been grossly and inexcusably insulted by a co-ordinate branch 
of the corporation." 

To the memorial of the stockholders of the Metropolitan Railroad 
Company will be found the names of a large number of the most influ- 
ential, prominent, and wealthy citizens of Georgetown, and quite a 
number of the influential and wealthy citizens of Washington city, 
praying that the j)ower to construct passenger railways in the cities 
of Washington and Georgetown may be given to the Metropolitan 
Railroad Company. — (See Appendix H.) The same feeling is enter- 
tained, as we believe, by a majority of the citizens of Georgetown, who 
are not stockholders in said company. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 27 

The boards of aldermen and common council of Georgetown, in the 
year 1858, by a unanimous vote, recommended that tTie francliise of 
the city railways should be given to the Metropolitan Railroad Com- 
pany, and on the 22d of March last four out of the five members who 
constitute the board of aldermen, and nine members of the board of 
common council, of the said town, recommended the same thing. — 
(See Appendix I.) 

In the " Daily Globe " of April 2 Mr. Brown is reported to have 
said : 

" First, insomuch as relates to the Metropolitan Railroad Companyj 
we found that that had been an existing company for six or seven 
years; that it had never, during all that time, made one inch of progress 
towards the construction of its road. It made a call of some slight 
percentage — I do not now know how much — three or four or five per 
cent. ; it was paid by some subscribers to the stock, but nothing was 
done. The company seemei to be languishing — in fact dead, in 
everything but name. * * * jt made no progress ; it seemed to 
have no vitality — seemed indisposed, heretofore, to do anything. Its 
directors came, through their agent, and represented to the commit- 
tee that if this privilege of constructing a railroad on the avenue 
should be given to them, then, out of the profits arising from it, they 
were going to construct a railroad from Georgetown to the Point of 
Rocks — a work that is going to cost three millions, I think, by the 
lowest estimate. We did not believe a word of that ; we thought it 
was a piece of humbuggery, and dismissed the whole thing. * * * 
So far as the Metropolitan railroad is concerned, I said before that I 
regarded it rather as a myth. There is really nothing of it, and never 
has been. It has a charter, and has had it lor six or seven years, but 
has done nothing under the charter ; has not proceeded to work ; has 
no money ; never has had any ; never will have any. * * * jf 
the stockholders in the two cities — such gentlemen as those whose 
names I have read — are protesting against it, saying that those who 
are petitioning in their name are using an authority never delegated 
to them, I think we had better stop, especially after the committee 
have investigated the subject very closely. I did not speak without 
investigation. The committee looked into it very rigidly, and made 
up their minds deliberately that the Metropolitan Railroad Company 
was defunct — gone." 

In the same paper Mr. Hamlin is reported to have said : 

"Now, sir, looking at all the antecedents of the Metropolitan 
road — looking at the fact that its stockholders who had money have 
not paid it in ; looking at the fact that it has slumbered all this time, 
and will slumber always, in my judgment, whether you give it this 
franchise or not — I say it presents no case which commends it to our 
favorable judgment. I have my own opinions about this railway. I 
have formed them from the best opinions I can gather. * * * * 
And I concur fully with the chairman [of the committee] in saying 
that, in my judgment, the Metropolitan Railroad Company may be re- 
garded as a defunct thing, whether they get this charter or not ; and 
I think it is the best illustration, legislatively, that I have ever known 
of what Virgil describes as binding dead carcasses to living bodies. 



28 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

This corporation. I say, ia my judgment, is to be regarded as a defunct 
corporation. Some six or seven years ago persons subscribed money 
to it, but they never paid a dollar, or very few dollars." 

In answer to what has been said by the honorable senators, Messrs. 
Brown and Hamlin, in relation to the Metropolitan Kailroad Company 
as a dead and defunct concern, we respectfully affirm that the present 
directors of that company, and we doubt not all of the stockholders, 
in Washington and Georgetown, whose names are appended to the 
memorial in the Appendix marked H, do verily believe that the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company is a living embodiment, and will_, in 
good laith, and within a reasonable time, construct the Metropolitan 
railroad, as well as the city roads, if the franchise is granted to the 
said company. 

It is true that the Metropolitan Eailroad Company has been in a 
languishing condition, caused mainly by the veto of the mayor of 
Georgetown of the ordinance of the corporation of said town providing 
for the payment of the second instalment upon the stock subscribed for 
by the said town. 

It appears from the report of J. W. Deeble, treasurer of the said 
company, of July 1, 1854, that the amount received by him as treas- 
urer, on account of the first instalment of live dollars per share on the 
stock subscribed, and payment for two shares in full, was $50,091, of 
which there was then in his hands an unexpended balance of 
$25,286 67.— (See Appendix J and K ), 

The report of William H Grant, acting chief engineer of said com- 
pany, of July 3, 1854, shows that preliminary surveys of four lines 
were made in order to determine the best location for the said road 
from Georgetown to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and the city of 
Frederick, and three lines from the city of Frederick to Hagerstown. 
On page 15 of said report Mr. Grant says : " Between 500 and 600 
miles of lines have been instrumentally traced and mapped, with the 
details of topography, profiles, &c." 

Mr. Hamlin, during the same debate, said : " If it [the Metropoli- 
tan railroad] could connect with all the travel from the west at the 
Point of Rocks, and secure that travel to this place, it might be of 
some value ; certainly of vastly more value than it can be now, because 
the Loudoun and Hampshire road is now constructed some ninety 
miles." 

Mr. Brown also said: "The utility of the road, if it were con- 
structed, has already been superseded by the construction of another 
road by men of energy, who not only got a charter, but went to work 
under it. The Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire road has been 
constructed a distance of some eighty miles or more, and is going on 
rapidly to completion." 

The president of the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire railroad, 
Lewis McKenzie, in his seventh annual report of the loth of Novem- 
ber, 1859, near the bottom of page 5, says : " A few thousand cross- 
ties only are wanting for the track to Leesburg, (36 miles,) which im- 
portant town we hope and expect to reach by January next. The 
board expects soon to have in active use that portion of the road 
which extends from Alexandria to Broad Run." — (See Appendix L.) 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 29 

The following is an extract from a letter dated Alexandria, April 
4; 1860, and contains information which may be relied on : 

" The Loudoun and Hampshire railroad is finished to Leesburg, 
Yirginia. The cars have been running on the same since the 16th 
day of January, 1860, and are now landing passengers within four 
miles of said town, connecting with a line of coaches. Piedmont 
is distant from Alexandria one hundred and seventy miles. The coun- 
try from Winchester to Piedmont is mountainous and hilly. The 
Loudoun and Hampshire railroad is graded, say, four miles above Lees- 
burg, and under contract to Winchester. The estimated cost of the 
road to Piedmont, fully equipped and in running order, eight millions 
of dollars, and to the town of Winchester three millions." 

In continuation, Mr. Hamlin said: 

''I am aware that the amendment submitted by the senator from 
Maryland contains a provision that the road shall be completed within 
six months, while the bill reported by the committee gives to the par- 
ties eighteen months. It was a question well considered in the com- 
mittee whether that should not be reduced to twelve ; and I am in- 
clined now to think it might be reduced to twelve months ; but I think 
the clause in the senator's amendment — I do not mean to impute it to 
him — conveys a suspicion upon the whole thing. I affirm that it can- 
not be done in six months. * * * The time named in the sena- 
tor's proposition is so short that, instead of commending itself to my 
judgment as favorable, it creates, I confess^ a suspicion. I have no 
opinions of my own that I form on my own experience upon these 
points ; but I speak that which is communicated to me by practical 
men — by men who know all about these works — and I rely upon them, 
as I am bound to rely on them, for the best information I can have." 

In answer to that portion of Mr. Hamlin's speech just quoted, we 
"will present the letter of Messrs. Hathaway & Hodgman, who have 
had much experience in the construction of city passenger railways. 
It is as follows, viz : 

Washington, 3Iarch 27, 1860. 
To the President and Directors of the Metropolitan Railroad Company: 

GrENTLEMEN : We will agree to build your road in Washington and 
Georgetown at the rate of one mile per week^ and finish the road ready 
for the cars. We will also agree to build the road from the President's 
House (Washington) to the Capitol and furnish ten (10) cars on the 
road ready for use in thirty (30) days after you give us the order to 
commence work. 

We have built some seventy-five (75) raiies of road in Philadelphia, 
twenty-eight (28) miles in St. Louis, and ten (10) miles in Cincinnati. 
Kefer to John P. Verree, M. C, Philadelphia, Pa.; J. R. Barrett, M. 
C, St. Louis, Mo.; Robt. F. Taylor, president Second and Third 
street railroad, Philadelphia, Pa.; Martain Thomas, president Race 
and Vine street railroad, Philadelphia, Pa.; Wm. Wright, president 
West Philadelphia railroad, Pa. ; Strickland Kreiss, chief engineer 
city, Philadelphia. 

Respectfully, yours, 

HATHAWAY & HOGDMAN. 



30 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

Mr. Brown, in continuation of the debate, said : 

" I will state in that connexion, if my colleague on the committee 
will allow me, that the city of Georgetown made a subscription to the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company, and subsequently withdrew the sub- 
scription and transferred the money to the Loudoun and Hampshire 
road — the live one." 

Mr. Hamlin. ^' I was going to make the same remark. They sub- 
scribed, 1 think, on paper, about a half a million dollars — a nominal 
sum. Perhaps enough to make the survey was paid in; and to save 
their charter the work was commenced — one spadeful of dirt dug." 

In answer to the above remarks of these honorable senators, your 
memorialists beg leave to refer to the following statement of the clerk 
of the corporation of Georgetown : 

The corporation of Georgetown have made no change whatever in 
the original law authorizing a subscription to the Metropolitan rail- 
road stock. They passed a law authorizing a subscription to the 
Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire railroad stock, under certain 
conditions, but without any reference to, or connexion with, the sub- 
scription to the Metropolitan railroad stock. 

WM. LAIRD, 
Clerk Corporation Georgeloion. 
April 6, 1860. 

(See also in Appendix, M, N, 0, P and Q.) 

Your memorialists further represent, that at a meeting of the stock- 
holders of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, held on the 7th day 
of November last, twelve directors of said company were elected, which 
will appear from the following certificate : 

Office Metropolitan Railroad Company, 

Georgetown, April 4, 1860. 

This is to certify that at a meeting of the stockholders of the Metro- 
politan Railroad Company, held in pursuance of a call made in com- 
pliance with the charter of said company, on the 7th November, 1859, 
the following gentlemen were elected directors : 

Daniel Weisel, F. C. Clopper, 

B. 0. Tayloe, J. G. Berret, 

B. B. French, t. Ward, 

H. S. Davis, A. H. Pickrell, 

W. H. Edes, D.English, 

F. W. Ris'iue, F. Dodge. 

J. W. DEEBLE, 
Secretary Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

At this election, as appears from the above certificate, Colonel James 
G. Berret was elected one of the directors of the company. Before the 
day of election, one of the present directors called upon Colonel B. to 
ascertain whether he would accej)t, if elected. Colonel B. answered in 
the affirmative. We have been informed that he seemed to be much 
gratified sthis election, and declared that he could be of great service 



METEOPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY. 31 

to the company before Congress. He became a director, as we believe, 
with a full knowledge that the Metropolitan Railroad Company had 
applied during the last Congress for the franchise of the city passenger 
railways in Washington and Georgetown, and that the application 
would be renewed during the present session of Congress. About the 
20th or 21st March ultimo, one of your memorialists (F. W. Risque) 
called upon Colonel Berret, and requested him, as a stockholder of the 
Metropolitan railroad, to sign a memorial, praying Congress to grant 
to the said company the franchise of the city railways. 

He declined to do so, however, upon the ground, substantially, as 
he then stated, that as he was mayor of the city he might be called 
upon for some official action in relation to the matter, and it would 
therefore be improper for him to sign. This answer was so perfectly 
satisfactory to F. W. Risque, that he spoke of it in terms of high 
commendation. Colonel Berret also stated to F. W. Risque, who was 
entirely ignorant of the fact up to that time, that he had tendered his 
resignation as a director to Colonel Tayloe. James G. Berret, the 
mayor of Washington, and Henry Addison, the acting mayor of 
Georgelown, were^ by the unanimous consent of the Senate of the 
United States, permitted to enter the hall of that dignified body for 
the purpose, as was no doubt supposed by senators, to promote the 
general interests of their respective constituencies, and not to use their 
official influence in behalf of a few individuals. We are informed, 
and believe, that on Saturday last, during a debate in the Senate on 
the city railway bill, these gentlemen advocated the passage of the bill 
reported by the Senate committee, and opposed the application of the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

As to the bill reported by the Senate committe, it does not appear, 
so far as we have been able to ascertain, that any memorial of the 
citizens of Washington and Georgetown, except that of the gentleman 
named in said bill, has ever been presented to Congress, praying that 
the grant of the city railway be given to them. The franchise prayed 
for by them is valuable, and may be disposed of by them as soon as 
the same is obtained, there being no clause in said bill to prevent the 
sale or assignment thereof. On the memorial of the stockholders of 
the Metropolitan Railroad Company, praying for a grant of the fran- 
chise for city railways to that company, will be found many of the 
most influential and respectable citizens of Washington and George- 
town, some of whom are gentlemen of large fortunes. 

We believe that if a vote of the people of Washington and George- 
town could be taken, there would be a large majority in favor of 
granting the city railway franchise to the Metropolitan Railroad 
Company. 

A protest was presented to the Senate on Saturday last, signed by 
a few of the stockholders of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, pro- 
testing against the grant to the Metropolitan Company. Two of the 
gentlemen above referred to are George Parker and Joseph Bryan, 
both of whom have signed the memorial of the stockholders of the 
Metropolitan Company. — (See Appendix H.) 

The late John W. Maury was one of the warmest friends of the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company, and subscribed for sixty shares of the 



32 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

stock of said company, amounting to $3,000. We are informed that 
•while that distinguished gentleman was mayor of Washington, he and 
others citizens of Washington assured the president and directors of 
the Metropolitan Company that the corporation of Washington would 
subscribe for the stock of said company to the extent of $500,000. But 
a political revolution took place, by which John T. Towers was elected 
mayor of Washington, with boards of aldermen and common council 
agreeing with Mr. Towers politically, who refused to carry out the 
promise made by Mr. Maury. 

In conclusion, your memorialists further represent, that they believe 
that the construction of the Metropolitan railroad, from the Point of 
Eocks to Georgetown, and its extension through said cities, would be 
greatly beneficial to the District of Columbia : 1st, in shortening the 
distance to Harper's Ferry between forty-seven and fifty miles ; 2d, in 
opening a direct connexion between the District of Columbia and the 
State of Pennsylvania, and the north and northwest ; 3d, it would 
lessen the fare to be paid by passengers, and be a saving of some two 
hours and fifteen minutes time ; 4th, it would expedite the trans- 
mission of the United States mails, and save a large amount of cost to 
the government in that branch of the public service. Therefore, 
inasmuch as a large number of the stockholders residing in the cities 
of Washington and Georgetown have petitioned that the grant of the 
city railways may be given to the said company, your memorialists 
say Amen ; and, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. 

BENJAMIN OGLE TAYLOE. 

DAVID ENGLISH. 

WILLIAM H. EDES. 

ADOLPHUS H. PICKRELL. 

FERDINAND W. RISQUE. 



APPENDIX. 

A. 

AN A.CT to incorporate the Georgetown and Catoctin Railroad Company. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever the State of 
Maryland shall by law incorporate a company to lay out and construct 
a railroad from any point, in connexion with the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad at or near the Point of Rocks, to Georgetown, in the District 
of Columbia, the right of way, not exceeding sixty-six feet wide, be, and 
is hereby, granted to such company : Provided, That before any such 
road, depots, and its necessary fixtures shall be located in Georgetown, 
the assent of said city shall first be obtained : And provided, also, That 
the same provisions for the condemnation of and payment for the land 
or other property tor the use of the said road, as m.iy be made by any 
act for the incorporation of such company by the State of Maryland 
shall be, and hereby are, extended to the condemnation of and payment 



METROPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY. 33 

for land or other private property for the use of the said road within 
the District of Columbia. 
Approved March 3, 1853. 



B. 

AN ACT to incorporate the Metropolitan Railroad Company. (Passed January session, 1853.) 

Section 1 . Be it enacted hy the general assembly of Maryland ^ That 
John W. Maury, William W. Corcoran, Wm. W. ISeaton, David 
English, Francis Dodge, Ferdinand W. Risque, of the District of 
Columbia ; Charles E. Trail, Jacob M. Kunkel, and Meredith Davis, 
of Frederick county ; Robert T. Dade, Wm. Lingan Gaither, Francis 
C. Clopper, of Montgomery county; Daniel Weisel, James Wason, 
and Elias Davis, of Washington county, be and are hereby appointed 
commissioners, under the direction of a majority of whom subscrip- 
tions may be received to the capital stock of the Metropolitan Railroad 
Company hereby incorporated ; and they, or a majority of them, may 
cause books to be opened at such times and places as they may direct 
for the purpose of receiving subscriptions to the capital stock of said 
company, to which any person, corporation, or association of indi- 
viduals may subscribe, after giving such notice of the times and places 
of opening the same as they may deem proper ; and that upon the first 
opening of said books they shall be kept open for at least ten successive 
days, from ten o'clock a. m. until two o'clock p. m. ; and if, at the 
expiration of that period, such a subscription to the capital stock of 
said company as is necessary to its incorporation shall not have been 
obtained, the said commissioners, or a majority of them, may cause 
the said books to be opened from time to time, after the expiration of 
the said ten days, for the space of twelve months thereafter, or until 
the sum necessary to the incorporation of the company shall be sub- 
scribed, if not sooner subscribed ; and if any of the said commissioners 
shall die, resign, or refuse to act during the continuance of the duties 
devolved upon them by this act, another may be appointed in his stead 
by the remaining commissioners, or a majority of them. 

Sec. 2. And he it enacted, That the capital stock of said Metropolitan 
Company shall be two millions of dollars, in shares of fifty dollars 
each ; and as soon as ten thousand shares of said capital stock shall 
be subscribed, the subscribers of said stock, their successors and assigns, 
shall be and they are hereby declared to be incorporated into a com- 
pany, by the name of the Metropolitan Railroad Company, and by 
that name shall be capable in law of purchasing, holding, selling, 
leasing, and conveying estates, real, personal, and mixed, so far as 
shall be necessary for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and no 
further, and shall have perpetual succession ; and by said corporate 
name may sue and be sued, and may have and use a common seal, 
which they shall have power to alter and renew at their pleasure, and 
fihall have, enjoy, and may exercise all the powers, rights, and privi- 
leges which other corporate bodies may lawfully do for the purposes 
mentioned in this act. 

H. Rep. Com. 565 3 



3;4 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

Sec. 3. And he it enacted, That upon every such subscription there 
sliall be paid at the time of subscribing to the said commissioners, or 
to their agents appointed to receive such subscriptions, the sum of five 
dollars on every share subscribed, and the residue thereof shall be 
paid in such instalments and at such times as may be required by the 
president and directors of said company : ''Provided, That not more 
than one-third of the subscription be demanded in any one year from 
the commencement of the work ; nor any payment demanded until at 
least sixty days' public notice of such demand shall have been given 
by the said president and directors, by advertisement published once 
a week for three successive weeks in some newspaper or newspapers 
printed in Washington city, Rockville, Frederick, and Hagerstown ; 
and if any subscriber shall fail or neglect to pay any instalment or 
part of said subscription thus demanded for the space of sixty days 
next after the time the same shall be due and payable, the stock on 
which it is demanded shall be forfeited to the company, and may be 
sold by the said president and directors for the benefit of the company; 
but the president and directors may remit any such forfeiture on such, 
terms as they shall deem proper. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That, at the expiration of the ten days 
for which the books are first opened, if ten thousand shares of said 
capital stock shall have been subscribed, or, if not, as soon thereafter 
as the same shall be subscribed, if within one year after the first 
opening of the books_, the said commissioners, or a majority of them, 
eball call a general meeting of the subscribers at such time and place 
as they may appoint, and shall give at least twenty days' public notice 
thereof ; and at such meeting the said commissioners shall lay the sub- 
scription books before the subscribers then and there present, and 
thereupon the said subscribers, or a majority of them, shall elect twelve 
directors by ballot to manage the affairs of said company for the term 
of one year, and until others shall be appointed in their place ; and 
these twelve directors, or a majority of them, shall have the power of 
electing a president of said company, either from amongst the direc- 
tors or others, to serve for the term of one year, and until another 
shall be appointed in his place ; and the president and directors re- 
spectively shall be allowed such compensation for their services as the 
stockholders, in general meeting assembled, shall prescribe ; and on 
all occasions wherein a vote of the stockholders of said company is to 
be taken, each stockholder shall be allowed one vote for every share 
owned by him or her ; and every stockholder may depute any other 
person to vote and act for it, him, or her, as its, his, or her proxy ; 
and the commissioners aforesaid, or any three or more of them, shall 
be judges of the said first election of directors. 

Sec. 5. And he it enacted. That a general meeting of the stock- 
holders of said company shall be held annually at such time and place 
as the stockholders shall appoint. They may be called at any time 
and to meet at any convenient place during the interval between said 
annual meetings by the president and directors, or a majority of them, 
or by the stockholders owning at least one-fourth of the whole stock 
subscribed, upon giving thirty days' public notice of the time and 
place of holding the same, by advertisement published once a week 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 35 

for three successive weeks in some newspaper or newspapers published 
in Washington city, Eockville, Frederick, and Hagerstown ; and when 
any such meetings are called by the stockholders, such notice shall 
specify the particular object of the case ; and if at any such called 
meetings a majority (in value) of the stockholders of said company 
are not present in person, or by proxy, such meetings shall be ad- 
journed from day to day without transacting any business for any time 
not exceeding three days, and if within said three days stockholders 
having a majority (in value) of the stock subscribed do not thus at- 
tend, such meeting shall be dissolved. 

Sec. 6. And he it enacted, That at the regular annual meetings of 
the stockholders of said company it shall be the duty of the president 
and directors in office for the preceding year to exhibit a clear and dis- 
tinct statement of the affairs of the company ; that at any called 
meetings of the stockholders a majority of those present may require 
similar statements from the president and directors, whose duty it 
shall be to furnish them, when thus required ; and that at all general 
meetings of the stockholders a majority (in value) of all the stock- 
holders in said company may fill any vacancy that may occur in the 
office of directors, and may remove from office any president or any 
of the directors of said company, and may appoint others in their 
stead. 

Sec. 7. And he it enacted, That every president and director of said 
company, before he acts as such, shall swear or affirm, as the case may 
be, that he will well and truly discharge the duties of his said office 
to the best of his skill and judgment. 

Sec. 8. And he it enacted, That the said president and directors, or a 
majority of them, may appoint all such officers, engineers, agents, or 
servants whatsoever, as they may deem necessary for the transaction of 
the business of the company, and may remove any of them at their 
pleasure ; that they, or a majority of them, shall have power to deter- 
mine by contract the compensation of all the engineers, officers, agents,, 
or servants in the employ of said company, and to determine by their 
by-laws the manner of adjusting and settling all accounts against the 
company, and also the manner and evidence of transfers of stock ia 
said company ; and that they, or a majority of them, shall have power 
to pass all by-laws which they may deem necessary or proper for exer- 
cising all the powers vested in the company hereby incorporated^ and 
for carrying the objects of this act into eifect : Provided only, That 
such by-laws shall not be contrary to the laws of the United States 
and of the State of Maryland, or any of the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 9. And he it enacted, That if the capital stock of said company 
shall be deemed insufficient for the purposes of this act, it shall and 
may be lawful for the president and directors of said company, or a 
majority of them, from time to time to increase the said capital stock 
by the addition of as many shares as they may deem necessary, for 
which they may at their option cause subscriptions to be received in 
the manner prescribed by them, or may sell the same for the benefit 
of the company for any sum not under their par value ; and that they, 
or a majority of them, shall have power to borrow money for the ob- 
jects of this act, to issue certificates or other evidence of such loans, 



36 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

and to pledge the property of the company for the payment of the 
same and its interest. 

Sec. 10. And be it enacted, That the president and directors of said 
company shall be and they are hereby invested with all the rights and 
powers necessary to the construction and repair of a railroad from 
Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, by the most eligible and 
central route through Montgomery county, crossing the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad at a point not exceeding five miles from the Monocacy 
viaduct, by the line of said railroad to the city of Frederick, in Fred- 
erick county, thence by the most convenient and practicable route 
through Frederick county and Washington county to Hagerstown, 
not exceeding sixty-six feet wide, with as many sets of tracks as the 
said president and directors, or a majority of them, may deem neces- 
sary ; and they, or a majority of them, may cause to be made, or con- 
tract with others for making said railroad, or any part of it ; and 
they, their agents, or ihose with whom they may contract for making 
any part of the same, or their agents, may enter upon and use and 
excavate any land which may be wanted for the site of said road, or 
the erection of warehouses or other works necessary to said road, or 
for any other purpose necessary or useful in the construction or repair 
of said road or its works ; and that they may build bridges, may fix 
scales and weights, may lay rails, may take and use any earth, timber, 
gravel, stone, or other materials which may be wanted for the con- 
struction or repair of any part of said road, or any of its works, and 
may make and construct all works whatsoever which may be necessary 
and expedient in order to the proper completion of said road. 

Sec. 11. And be it enacted, That the president and directors of said 
company, or a majority of them, or any person or persons authorized 
by a majority of them, may agree with the owner or owners of any 
land, earth, timber, gravel, stone, or other materials^ or any improve- 
ments which may be wanted for the construction or repair of any of 
said roads, or of any of their works, for the purchase or use and occupa- 
tion of the same ; and if they cannot agree, or if the owner or owners, 
or any of them, be a femme covert, under age, non compos mentis, or 
out of the county in which the property wanted may lie, when such 
land or materials shall be wanted, application may be made to any 
justice of the peace of such county, Avho shall thereupon issue his war- 
rant, under hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of said county, re- 
quiring him to summon a jury of twenty inhabitants of said county, 
not related nor in anywise interested, to meet on the land or near to the 
other property or materials, to be valued on a day named in said war- 
rant, not less than ten nor more than twenty days after the issuing of 
the same ; and if at said time and place any of said jurors summoned 
do not attend, the said sheriff shall immediately summon as many 
jurors as may be necessary with the jurors in attendance to fur- 
nish a panel of twenty jurors in attendance, and from them, each 
pariy, or its, his, or their agent, if either be not present in person 
or by agent, the sheriff for him, her, it, or them, may strike off 
four jurors, and the remaining twelve shall act as a jury of inquest 
of damages ; and before they act as such the said sheriff shall admin- 
ister to each of them an oath or affirmation, as the case may be, that 
he will justly and impartially value the damages which the owner or 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 37 

owners will sustain by the use or occupation of the same required by 
the company ; and the jury, in estimating such damages, shall take 
into the estimate the benefits resulting to the said owner or owners 
from conducting such railroad through, along, or near to the property 
of said owner or owners, but only in extinguishment of the claim for 
damages ; and the said jury shall reduce their inquisition to writing, 
and shall sign and seal the same, and it shall then be returned by said 
sheriff to the clerk of his county, as the case may be, and by such clerk 
filed in his court, and shall be confirmed by said court at its next ses- 
sion, if no sufficient cause to the contrary be shown ; and when con- 
firmed shall be recorded by said clerk at the expense of said company ; 
but if set aside the said court may direct another inquisition to be 
taken in the manner above described ; and such inquisition shall 
describe the property taken, or the bounds of the land condemned, 
and the quantity or duration of the interest in the same, valued for 
the company, and such valuation, when paid or tendered to the owner 
or owners of said property, or his, her, or their legal representatives, 
shall entitle the said company to the estate and interest in the same 
thus valued, as fully as if it had been conveyed by the owner or owners 
of the same ; and the valuation, if not received when tendered, may 
at any time thereafter be received from the company without costs 
by the said owner or owners, or his, her, or their legal representative 
or representatives. 

Sec. 12. And he it enacted, That whenever, in the construction of 
said road or roads, it shall be necessary to cross or intersect any estab- 
lished road or way, it shall be the duty of the president and directors 
of said company so to construct the said road across such established 
road or way as not to impede the passage or transportation of persons 
or property along the same ; or where it shall be necessary to pass 
through the lands of any individual, it shall be their duty to provide 
for such individual proper wagon ways across said road or roads from 
one part of his land to the other. 

Sec. 13. And he it enacted, That the president and directors shall 
annually, or semi-annually, declare and make such dividends as they 
may deem proper of the net profits arising from the resources of the 
company, after deducting the necessary current and probable contin- 
gent expenses ; and that they shall divide the same amongst the pro- 
prietors of the stock of said company in proper proportion to their 
respective shares : Provided, however, That no dividend of the earn- 
ings of said road shall be paid to the stockholders until after the 
entire line of said railroad shall have been completed from George- 
town, in the District of Columbia, to Frederick city, and from Fred- 
erick city to Hagerstown, in Washington county; but the same shall 
be used and applied by the president and directors to the construction 
and completion of said road as aforesaid to Hagerstown, and in lieu 
thereof certificates of the capital stock of said company shall be issued 
the stockholder according to the amount of their dvidends respectively. 

Sec. 14. And he it enacted, That the said president and directors, 
or a majority of them, shall have power to purchase with the funds of 
said company and place on any railroad constructed by them under 
this act all machines, wagons, vehicles, or carriages of any descrip- 



38 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

tion whatsoever which they may deem necessary or proper for the 
purposes of transportation on said road, and they shall have power to 
charge for tolls upon and the transportation of persons, goods, pro- 
duce, merchandise, or property of any kind whatsoever transported 
by them along said railway, any sum not exceeding the following 
rates, viz : on all goods, produce, merchandise, or property of any 
description whatever transported by them, one cent a ton per mile for 
toll, and three cents a ton per mile for transportation ; and for the 
transportation of passengers not exceeding three cents per mile for 
each passenger ; and it shall not be lawful for any other company, or 
any person or persons whatsoever, to travel upon or use any of the 
roads of said company, or to transport persons, merchandise, produce, 
or property of any description whatsoever along said roads, or any of 
them, without the license or permission of the president and directors 
of said company ; and that the said road or roads, with all their works, 
improvements, and profits, and all machinery of transportation used 
on said road, are hereby vested in the said company incorporated by 
this act and their successors forever ; and the shares of the capital 
stock of the said company shall be deemed and considered personal 
estate. 

Sec. 15. And be it enacted, That as soon as this act shall have been 
passed by the legislature of Maryland, books may be opened, subscrip- 
tions received, and the said company organized, and that when organ- 
ized, the said company and the president and directors of the same 
shall have all the powers, rights, and privileges granted by this act, 
and shall be subject to all its regulations in constructing or repairing 
any of the said railroads or other necessary works or buildings which 
may or can be constructed within the limits of the State of Maryland, 
and in transporting persons, goods, merchandise, or property of any 
description along any of said roads, and that the provisions of this 
act shall be wholly in force as to all the property of the company 
which may be situated or may be within the State of Maryland, and 
which said company is permitted to hold under this act. 

Sec. 16. A7id be it enacted, That full right and privilege is hereby 
reserved to the citizens of this State, or any company hereafter to be 
incorporated under the authority of this State, to connect with the 
road hereby provided for : Provided, That in forming such connexion 
no injury shall be done to the works of the company hereby incorpo- 
rated. 

Sec. 17. And be it enacted, That the president and directors of said 
company shall have power to issue bonds or certificates of indebted- 
ness, under the seal of said company, in such sum or sums of a de- 
nomination not less than one hundred dollars, as said company may 
prefer, and to sell and dispose of the same upon such terms as to said 
company may seem proper, and to pledge the property and profits of 
said company to secure the payment thereof; and also with power to 
convert the bonds so issued into capital stock of said company, upon 
such terms as may be agreed upon between the holder or holders of 
said bonds and said president and directors : Provided, That said 
company shall not be authorized to issue any certificate, note, or scrip, 
or other device to be used as currency. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. B9 

Sec. 18. And be it enacted, That the president and directors of said 
company shall have full power and authority to connect the railroad 
"which may be constructed under the provisions of this act with any other 
railroad now existing or which may hereafter be constructed, and also 
to make such arrangements with the president and directors of such, 
railroad for the through transportation of passengers and merchan- 
dise, and all property of what kind soever, in the cars or carriages of 
either company as may appear to said president and directors con- 
venient and advantageous : Provided, however, That the charge for 
all passengers travelling on the railroad hereby authorized to be 
made, in cars of the same class, shall be uniform, and any arrange- 
ment made or participated in by said company, by which, through 
means of through tickets, or otherwise, any one passenger travelling 
on the said road shall be charged a less sum than any other passenger 
travelling thereon the same distance in cars of the-same class, shall 
be a forfeiture of this act of incorporation, and the^ame may be en- 
forced by scire facias in the usual way. 

Sec. 19. And be it enacted, That said company shall start and run 
their cars for transportation of passengers and property at regular 
times, to be fixed by public notice ; and shall furnish sufficient accom- 
modations for the transportation of all such passengers and property 
as shall within a reasonable time previous thereto be offered for trans- 
portation at the place of starting, and at the usual stopping places 
established for receiving and discharging way passengers and freight 
for that train, and shall take, transport and discharge such passen- 
gers and property at, from, and to such places, on the due payment 
of the freight or fare legally authorized therefor ; and shall be liable 
to the party aggrieved in an action for damages for any neglect or 
refusal in the premises. 

Sec. 20. And be it enacted. That if the road authorized by this act 
to be made shall not be commenced within two years from the passage 
of this act, and shall not be completed within five years after it shall 
have been commenced, then this act shall be void and the powers con- 
ferred by it shall cease. 

Sec. 21. And be it enacted, That this act shall take efiect from the 
date of its passage. 

Approved May 5, 1853. 



a 

AN ACT amendatory of the act entitled ' ' An act to incorporate the Metropoliton Bailroad 
Company," passed January session, 1853. 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Maryland, That 
it shall not be necessary to complete the railroad authorized to be 
constructed by the act to which this is amendatory, to Hagerstown, as 
provided in the thirteenth section of said act, before any dividends of 
the net profits arising from the business of said company shall be de- 
clared, and distribution thereof made amongst the stockholders ; but 
that if, in the progress of the construction of the said railroad to the 



40 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

aforesaid point of completion, the president and directors of the said 
company should think proper to equip for service any completed part 
thereof, they are hereby authorized to do so, and to distribute the net 
earnings or profits (or so much thereof as they may think proper to 
dstribute) arising from the transportation and business done upon such 
completed part, amongst the stockholders^, in dividends, to be declared 
annually or semi-annually, at their discretion ; and that no part of 
the aforesaid net earnings or profits shall be applied to the construc- 
tion of the further or other portions of the contemplated railroad 
aforesaid, unless the president and directors shall deem it best for the 
interest of the company to do so, and then they may apply the whole 
or any part of such net earnings or profits, at their discretion, in the 
work of finishing other portions of said railroad. 

Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the said Metropolitan Kailroad Com- 
pany may form or establish working connexion with the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad Company, at any point not exceeding the distance of 
one mile from the place or places where it is authorized to cross the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That all moneys obtained upon subscrip- 
tions to the stock of said Metropolitan Railroad Company, paid by the 
citizens or residents of the respective counties or cities in the State of 
Maryland within which its railroad may be located, shall be exclu- 
sively expended in locating, constructing, and completing the parts of 
its said railroad lying within the counties or cities to which the sub- 
scribers respectively belong, unless they shall file their written con- 
sent with the president and directors of the company, leaving it to 
their discretion to expend the money where and how they please for 
the best interests of the company. 

Sec. 4. And be it enacted, That all parts of the original act to which 
this is amendatory which are inconsistent with this amendment be, 
and the same are, hereby repealed. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That the time within which the said 
Metropolitan Railroad Company is required to complete its said rail- 
road, as limited by the twentieth section of the original act, shall be^ 
and is hereby, extended so as to include the period of ten years from 
the commencement of said railroad. 

Sec. 6. And be it enacted. That this act shall take effect from the 
day on which it may be passed. 

Passed March 6, 1856. 



D. 

AN ORDINANCE authorizing a subscription of five thousand shares of the capital stock of 
ihe Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

Section 1. Be it ordained by the board of aldermen and board of 
common council of ihe corporation of Georgetown, That the mayor be, 
and he is hereby, authorized and required to subscribe, in the name 
and for the use of this corporation, for five thousand shares of the 
capital stock in the Metropolitan Railroad Company. 



METROPOLITAN RA.ILROAD COMPANY. 41 

Sec. 2. And he it further ordained, That for the purpose of paying 
the instalment due at the time of subscribing, the clerk, under the 
direction of the mayor, be, and he is, authorized and required to bor- 
row, on the credit of this corporation^ at a rate of interest not exceed- 
ing six per centum per annum, the sum of twenty-five thousand dol- 
lars. 

Approved June 11, 1853. 



E. 

A RESOLUTION appointing a committee to vote the stock of this corporation in the Metro- 
politan Railroad Company. 

Besolved by the hoard of aldermen and hoard of common council of 
the corporation of Georgetoion, That Evan Lyons, David English, 
Robert P. Dodge, Wm. H. Edes, and Walter S. Cox, or a majority 
of them, be, and they are hereby, appointed a committee to vote the 
stock of this corporation in the Metropolitan Railroad Company, at a 
meeting of the stockholders of said company to be held on the 28th 
instant, and at all subsequent meetings of the stockholders of said 
company, until otherwise ordered. 

Approved July 23, 1853. 



F. 

AN ACT authorizing the corporate authorities of Georgetown to impose additional taxes 

and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the mayor, re- 
corder, aldermen, and common council of Georgetown, be, and they 
are hereby, authorized and empowered to lay and collect a special an- 
nual tax of seventy-five cents, or so much thereof as may be neces- 
sary, upon every hundred dollars of property by law now taxable 
within the corporate limits of said town ; and all money vested or 
held in any banking, insurance, brokerage, or exchange company or 
institution, upon all State or corporation stocks, and money loaned at 
interest, or bond, mortgage, or other evidence of indebtedness, in 
order to meet the engagements recently assumed by said town in sub- 
scribing to the stock of the Metropolitan Railroad Company ; and to 
pledge the same to secure the said engagements in such a manner that 
no part of the same shall in any event be applied to any other object ; 
and the like remedy shall be used for the recovery thereof as is now 
used for the recovery of other public taxes in said town : Provided, 
That said tax or assessment of seventy-five cents upon every hundred 
dollars of property shall not be made until after the next general 
election of mayor, aldermen, and common council of Georgetown. 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted. That the said corporation of 
Georgetown shall have full power and authority to introduce into said 



42 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

town a supply of water for the use of the inhabitants thereof, and to 
cause the streets, lanes, and alleys, or any of them, or any portion of 
any of them to be lighted by gas or otherwise, and to provide for the 
expense of any such works or improvements, either by a special tax or 
out of its corporate funds generally, or both, at its discretion. 
Approved March 1, 1855. 



G. 

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the payment of the second instalment of the subscription to 
the stock of the Metropolitan railroad. 

jBe it ordained hy the hoard of aldermen and hoard of common 
council of the corporation of Georgetotvn, D. C, That Evan Lyons, 
David English, Robert P. Dodge, W. H. Edes, and Walter S. Cox, 
the proxies now authorized to vote the stock of the corporation in 
the Metropolitan railroad, be, and they are hereby, directed to pro- 
cure from some suitable person or persons blank coupon bonds of the 
denomination of five hundred dollars and one thousand dollars, to 
an amount sufficient to cover the subscription of this corporation to 
the stock of said railroad, in such proportions as they may think ad- 
visable, bearing an interest of six per cent, per annum, payable half 
yearly, at some one of the banking houses in the District of Columbia, 
and the said bonds to be irredeemable for twenty-five years from their 
date, and redeemable after that time at the pleasure of the corpora- 
tion ; and the faith of this corporation is hereby pledged for the pay- 
ment of the interest on the said bonds semi-annually, and the ultimate 
redemption of the bonds at their maturity, under authority of an act 
of Congress entitled "An act authorizing the corporate authorities 
of Georgetown to impose additional taxes, and for other purposes," 
approved March 2, 1855 ; and the said persons so named above are 
hereby directed to hold the custody of said blank bonds until otherwise 
ordered by the corporation. 

Sec. 2. And he it further ordained, That the said persons so named 
be, and they are hereby, instructed, within two weeks after the ap- 
proval of this ordinance, or as soon thereafter as they may be in pos- 
session of the aforesaid blank bonds, to hand over to the mayor and 
clerk of this corporation blank bonds to the amount of twenty-five 
thousand dollars, to meet their second instalment of the corporation 
subscription to the said road, as called for by the directors of said 
Metropolitan Railroad Company and the mayor and clerk is hereby 
authorized and requested to sign the same, and the clerk of the cor- 
poration is directed hereby to pay to the treasurer of the Metropolitan 
Railroad Company the second instalment on the stock of said com- 
pany now called in the bonds of this corporation hereby ordered to be 
issued at their par value, and take his receipt for the same. 

Passed by a vote of two-thirds of the boards June 21, 1856. 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



43 



H. 

To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 

States of America : 

The memorial of the stockholders of the Metropolitan Kailroad Com- 
pany respectfully represents : That they own the number of shares 
herein set opposite to their respective names, of the capital stock of 
the Metropolitan Railroad Company, chartered by an act of the legis- 
lature of the State of Maryland, by which the said company were au- 
thorized to construct the said road from a point on the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad to the boundary line of the District of Columbia ; and by an 
act of your honorable bodies, the said company were authorized to extend 
said road within the corporate limits of Georgetown. The said com- 
pany, properly estimating the importance to the travelling community 
of extending the said road from their depot in Georgetown to the depot 
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad in Washington, and the great ad- 
vantage to the citizens of Washington and Georgetown of passenger 
railway tracks in said cities, the president and directors of said com- 
pany have presented several memorials to your honorable bodies, 
praying that such power may be vested in them. Your memorialists, 
therefore, do most respectfully request that the power to lay down and 
construct passenger railway tracks in the cities of Washington and 
Georgetown may be granted as petitioned for to the Metropolitan 
Eailroad Company. 

And your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray. 



Georgetown stockholders. 

Shares. Amount. 
D. English, Robert P. Dodge, Evan Lyons, W. H. 

Edes, proxies for corporation of Georgetown 5,000 $250,000 

P. Duddey, treasurer of Georgetown College 25 1,250 

The Sisters of the Visitation, Georgetown 20 1,000 



Shares. Amount. 

D. English 20 $1,000 

Robt. P. Dodge 50 2,500 

Wm. H. Edes 10 500 

F. & A. H. Dodge.. .100 5,000 

Evan Lyons 20 1,000 

EsauPickrell 10 500 

Richard Pettit 20 1,000 

A. H. Pickrell 10 500 

Joseph Libbey 20 1,000 

James A. Magruder.. 10 500 

Henry H. Dodge 5 250 

John H. Waters 5 250 

Peter Berry 10 500 

Geo. Shoemaker, jr.. 30 1,500 

William Clabaugh... 10 500 



Shares. Amount. 

J. L. Kidwell 15 $750 

James Wallace 2 100 

J. R. Thomas 10 500 

J. D. Cathell 2 100 

W. F. Seymour 10 500 

Geo. W. Beall 5 250 

J. G. Waters 5 250 

Theo. F. Boucher.... 3 150 

JohnE. Cox 5 250 

Thomas Jewell 3 150 

Edwd. Cammack 2 100 

William Noyes 5 250 

Thomas Hunter 4 200 

Homiller&Duvall... 40 2,000 

W. A. Bradley 20 1,000 



44 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



Shares, Am't. 

Otho Z. Muncaster.... 10 $500 

John H. Smoot 10 500 

Mayfield & Brown.... 2 100 

J. S. Blackford 5 250 

J. M. Belt 4 200 

Chas. D. Welch and 

John H. Wilson.... 1 50 

Rittenhouse& Sweeny 10 500 

Richard FuUalove 2 100 

Th. A. Lazenby 10 500 

A. Young 3 150 

R.Daw 1 50 

T. Remick 2 100 

Richard R.Shekell.... 2 100 

Geo. M. Sothoron 5 250 

Thomas Turvey 1 50 

M. L. Williams 4 200 

JohnJ. Bogue 3 150 

Allen Dodge 40 2,000 

MaryE. McDaniel.... 5 250 

A. Hyde 3 150 

Edward Chapman.... 10 500 

Grafton Tyler 10 500 

J. N. Fearson 10 500 

Joseph F. Birch 2 100 

Henry King 1 50 

Reily & Brother 2 100 

Thomas Jackson 2 100 

C. A. Upperman 2 100 

Philip May 10 500 



Shares. Am't. 



H. L.Kengla 20 

Robert White 2 

John Davidson 20 

F. Wheatly 10 

P. Von Essen 5 

William King 2 

P. T. Berry 20 

J.E.Carter 2 

C. F. Shekell 2 

Wm. Parsons 2 

R. S. T. Cissel 5 

James Fullalove 1 

L. Kengla 10 

Ann Pickrell 10 

M. A. Thomas 10 

Ramsburg & Ebert.... 10 

Thos. Brown & Son... 20 

Peter O'Donnoghue... 5 

W. D. Beall 3 

J.M.May 3 

Geo. Waters 20 

AlfredLee 5 

F. W. Risque 20 

W.Albert King 6 

H. C. Mathews 10 

W. Laird, jr 4 

Andrew Barbour 2 

Walter Godey 5 

R. W. Barnard 2 



Washington stockholders. 



B. OgleTayloe 100 $5,000 

B.B.French 5 250 

C. L. Coltman 10 500 

Ulysses Ward 10 500 

Wm. M. Morrison 5 250 

Hamilton G. Fant 5 250 

Wm. L.Hodge 10 500 

Wm. M. Ellis 5 250 

J.B.Ellis 2 100 

Perry & Brother 2 100 

H. Lindsly 5 250 

P.W.Browning 5 250 

Thos. YouDg 2 100 

W. Gunton 10 500 

Wm.T. Herron 20 1,000 

Susan Ireland 20 1,000 

Samuel Fowler 5 250 



D. Clagett 20 

James B. Dodson 5 

B. F. Morsell 2 

Charles Stott 2 

Walter Harper & Co.. 5 

Lewis Johnson 10 

Thomas B. Griffin and 

Edwin Harris 2 

P. J. Steer 5 

C. Woodward 20 

Wm. McL. Cripps 4 

John Purdy 20 

Wm. G. Deal 5 

Wallace Eliot 30 

D. 0. Hare 5 

Evan Hughes 10 

Jos. Bryan 10 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



45 



Thomas Blagden 10 

Wm. Blanchard 4 

H. C. Purdy 2 

M. T. Parker 1 

A. L. Newton 5 

Wm. H. Upperman... 5 

Jno. A. Smith 4 

H.S.Davis 10 

George H. Plant 10 

Wm. H. Harrover 2 

Jesse B. Wilson 5 

Ed. Hall 5 

Edw. Swann 2 

N. M. McG-regor 2 

Mrs. J. W. Maury.... 60 

Total number of shares.... 
Amount , 



Shares. Am't. Shares. Am't. 

$500 Geo. &Thos. Parker.. 40 $2,000 

200 Geo. Mattingly 

100 M. W.Galt&Bro 5 250 

50 John Van Riswick .... 1 50 

250 E. Wheeler 5 250 

250 Taylor & Maury 5 250 

200 A. Green 2 100 

500 James Adams 4 200 

500 Charles H. Lane 1 50 

100 E. Owen 10 500 

250 Noell&Boyd 2 100 

250 Jos. H. Bradley 5 250 

100 N. Callan 2 100 

100 Richard S. Coxe 10 500 

3,000 



6,504 
$325,200 



I. 

The undersigned, members of the board of aldermen and board of 
common council of the corporation of Georgetown, respectfully request 
the " committee of this corporation, which represents its interests be- 
fore Congress, "^ to urge upon Congress the passage of an act granting 
to the Metropolitan Bailroad Company the right of way for their rail- 
joad through Pennsylvania avenue. 
P. T. BERRY. 



H. C. MATTHEWS. 
JOSHUA RILEY. 
GEO. W. BEALL. 
D. ENGLISH. 
J. N. PEARSON. 
ESAU PICKRELL. 



W. H. TENNEY. 
W. KING, Jr. 
GEORGE HILL, Jr. 
JOHN W. McCOBB. 
J. M. STAKE. 
ROBT. P. DODGE. 



March 22, 1860. 



Board of Common Council, 

Georgetown, December 31, 1858. 
'' Mr. Thomas presented, for the signatures of the members of the 
corporation, a memorial to the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the Congress of the United States, in behalf of a proposition from the 
Metropolitan Railroad Company, to construct a road along Pennsyl- 
vania avenue to connect with their road and the Washington branch 
of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and moved its adoption by this 
board ; upon which motion the yeas and nays were demanded by Mr. 
Simms, and, being ordered, were taken as follows : 



46 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

"Yeas: Messrs. Cropley, Godey, Mackall, Muncaster, Myers, Hit- 
ter, Shoemaker, Simms, Tenney, and Thomas. — 10. 
"Nays: None. 
" So the motion to adopt the memorial was concurred in." 

The above extract is a true copy taken from the records of the board 
of common council of Georgetown, D. C. 
Test: W. ALBERT KING, 

Clerk Board of Common Council. 



J. 

To the Directors of the Bletropolitan Railroad Company : 

Gentlemen : In reply to your inquiry as to what amount of work I 
did for the Metropolitan Railroad Company, I reply, that in April, 
1855, on the order of F. Dodge, esq., president of the board of directors, 
I excavated about three hundred cubic yards of earth on section eight 
of said road, for which he paid me fifty dollars; after that, with the 
consent of the railroad company, I took a contract from John S. 
Christie & Co., of New York^ (who had contracted for twenty miles 
of the road from the district line to its connexion with the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad near the Point of Rocks,) to finish said section, (8,) 
and worked on it from December, 1855, to the 9th of June, 1856, at 
which time the work was suspended on account, as I understood, by 
the failure of the authorities of Georgetown to pay their second instal- 
ment on their stock, called for by the board of directors. The amount 
of work I did was the grubbing and clearing this whole section and 
about twenty thousand cubic yards of embankment and excavation. 
One-half of the section was fully graded, for which work I received 
monthly estimates amounting to some two thousand dollars. Christie 
& Co. did quite as much work on the adjoining section and received 
as much money from the company as I did. The whole work was 
suspended, as I have before stated, on the 9th of June, 1856, for want 
of money to continue the work. The exact amouot of money received 
by me, as also by Christie & Co., will appear by the books of the 
secretary of the railroad company, which is about the amount stated 
above. 

THOMAS M. McCUBBIN. 

Washington City, April 27, 1860. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of April, 1860. 

THOMAS C. DONN, J. P. 



METROPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY 47 



K. 

Extract from the report of the hoard of directors of the Alexandria, 
Loudoun, and Hampshire Railroad Company. 

The board of directors of the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire 
Railroad Company respectfully submit to the stockholders their seventh 
annual report : 

It appears from the reports of Messrs. Randolph and Bowie, division 
engineers, in charge of that portion of the road now under construc- 
tion, (the 41| miles from Alexandria to Clarke's Gap, in Loudoun 
county^) as follows : 

The graduation and masonry are so nearly complete as to oflfer no 
material impediment to the steady progress of the track-laying, there 
remaining to be done only some redressing upon the excavations and 
embankments which were first made. 

The track-laying has nearly reached Broad run, 28 miles from the 
Alexandria depot, and the necessary rails for completing the track 
to the gap are upon the company's grounds in Alexandria. 

The bridges east of Broad run are in place, and the timber for the 
remaining bridges is on hand. The Broad Run bridge is framed and 
only awaits, for a few days, the completion of the track to that stream 
to be put up, and those over Beaver Dam, Goose creek, Sycolin, and 
Tuscarora will be erected as soon as the track shall arrive at those 
streams. 

A few thousand cross-ties only are wanting for the track to Lees- 
burg, (36 miles,) which important town we hope and expect to reach 
by January next. The board expect soon to have in active use that 
portion of the road which extends from Alexandria to Broad run. 

All of which is respectfully submitted, by order of the board, 

LEWIS McKENZIE, President. 



L. 

Metropolitan Railroad Company in account ivith J. W. Deehle, 

treasurer. 

Dr. 
To expenditures on account of — 

Engineers' expenses, (salaries excepted) |3,246 39 

Contingent expenses 914 35 

President's salary 1,659 78 

Salary of secretary and treasurer 1,061 95 

Salary of land commissioner for Montgomery county 800 00 

Engineers' pay 16,486 89 

Commissioners' expenses 450 50 

Directors' expenses 184 47 

Balance on deposit to credit of company 25,286 67 

50,091 00 



48 metropolitan railroad company. 

Cr. 
By cash received on account of — 

First instalment on 9,998 shares at $5 each.... $49,990 

Two shares in full 100 

Knife charged to company through mistake.... 1 

$50,091 00 



E.E. J. W. DEEBLE, Treasurer. 

Metropolitan Railroad Office, 

Georgetown, D. C.j July 1, 1854. 



M. 

RESOLUTIONS pledging the corporation of Georgetown to make a subscription to the 
Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire Railroad Company, upon certain conditions. 

Resolved by the hoard of aldermen and hoard of common council of 
the corporation of Georgetown^ That in the event of an appropriation 
of money by Congress to build a bridge over the Potomac at the aque- 
duct, or near said aqueduct and west thereof, this corporation, by 
itself, and the citizens of Georgetown, pledges itself to subscribe, or 
have subscribed to the stock of the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hamp- 
shire railroad a sum not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars, 
sufficient to construct a branch of said road from the bridge herein- 
before referred to to the main line of said road, and to intersect the 
same at such point as may be agreed upon by the directors of said road 
and this corporation: Provided, however, That this resolution shall have 
no force whatever, or be in any manner binding upon this corporation, 
until it shall have been submitted to the consideration of the legal 
voters of this town, according to the provisions hereinafter made, and 
be sanctioned by a majority of votes at the polls. 

And he it further resolved, That it shall be the duty of the mayor, 
as soon as these resolutions shall be approved, to appoint some day 
•within the next two months, of which due notice shall be given, 
during which the polls shall be opened at the town hall, under the 
direction of three judges to be selected by the mayor from the present 
judges of elections, that the sense of the legal voters of the town shall 
be taken upon the propriety of the subscription as aforesaid, with the 
limitations therein provided, and those in favor of such subscription 
shall vote aye ; and those opposed to it shall vote no. 

Approved August 22, 1857. 



METROPOLITAN EAILROAD COMPANY. 49 



N. 

A EESOLUTION appointing a committee to confer with the Alexandria, Loudon, and 
Hampshire Railroad Company. 

Resolved by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council of 
the corporation of Georgetoiun, That the mayor, the recorder, aad E. 
Pickrell and I. Marbury, jr., of the board of comniOQ council be, and 
they are hereby, appointed a committee to confer with the Alexandria, 
Loudon, and Hampshire Railroad Company, in relation to the com- 
munication of Lewis McKenzie^ addressed to the mayor, bearing date 
July 27, 1859. 

Approved August 3, 1859. 



O. 

A RESOLUTION supplementary to a resolution in relation to a subscription of Georgetown 
to the Alexandria, Loudon, and Hampshire Railroad Company. 

Besolved by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council 
of the corporation of Georgetoivn, That this corporation hereby binds 
and pledges itself to make the subscription stated in the resolution to 
which this is a supplement, whether the money to build a bridge at 
or near the western side of the aqueduct be obtained from Congress or 
from any other source : Provided, That if the proposed bridge be 
built by any other party than Congress before the subscription shall 
be binding, a guarantee shall be given, to be approved by the corpo- 
ration, that the bridge shall be such as the voters^ when they approved 
the original resolution at the polls, expected, viz : a substantial bridge, 
adapted to railroad and ordinary travel, of sufficient dimensions safely 
to accommodate the public free of tolls, and to be kept in repair with- 
out expense to the corporation. 

Approved September 1*7, 1859. 



A RESOLUTION in relation to the Alexandria, Loudon, and Hampshire railroad. 

Besolved by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council of 
the corporation of Georgetown, That the committee appointed by reso- 
lution approved August 3, 1859, in relation to the Alexandria, Lou- 
don, and Hampshire Railroad Company be authorized and requested 
to confer with said company in relation to the selection of such a route 
as will be acceptable to this corporation, and to report such route as 
may be agreed upon, or such propositions as may be tendered by said 
company to this corporation for their consideration. 

Approved October 1, 1859. 

H. Rep. Com. 565 4 



50 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 



Q. 
A RESOLUTION in relation to the Alexandria, Loudon, and Hampshire Railroad Company. 

Whereas the Alexandria, Loudon, and Hampshire Eailroad Com- 
pany has proposed to this corporation, as its ultimatum, a connexion 
with said road at a point not further west than the point called the 
old Columbia Factory, as stated in the communication of the president 
of said company. Therefore be it 

Resolved by the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council of 
the corporation of Georgetown, That said proposition be respectfully 
declined, and that the clerk is hereby requested to transmit a copy of 
this resolution to the president of the said road. 

J. T. BANGS, 
President of the Board of Common Council. 
H. CAPEETON, 
Recorder and President of the Board of Aldermen. 

Approved February 5, 1860. 

H. ADDISON, Mayor. 

April 15, 1860. 

True copy — test : 

WM. LAIRD, Clerk. 



Extract from the minutes of the Metropolitan Railroad Company^ April 

4, 1855. 

2d. " Resolved, That in case of any refusal or delay of the present 
successful bidders in completing the contract within the present month, 
the president be authorized to employ competent persons to commence 
the road, under the legal advice of Mr. Marbury." 

Memorandum following the proceedings of the above date : 

" The road was commenced, in com])liance with the 2d resolution of 
the foregoing proceedings, on the 10th of April, 1855, under the 
supervision of the president and assistant engineer, and in the presence 
of Messrs. William Tomlinson, William Huddleston, Allison Nailor, 
Chas. H. Talbot, and E. Chapman.'' 

The above are true copies from the record. 

J. W. DEEBLE, 
Secretary Metropolitan Railroad Company. 



METKOPOLITAN EAILEOAD COJ^IPANY. 51 



Affidavit of Mr. Deehle as to the legality of the election of the present 
hoard of directors of the Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

On or about September 30, 1859, the proxies voting the stock of the 
corporation of Georgetown id the Metropolitan Railroad Company 
req^uested me, in writing, to " call a meeting of the stockholders of the 
3Ietropolitan Railroad Company on as early a day as is consistent loith 
the requisitions of the charter," (sec. 5,) for the purpose of electing a 
new board of directors, according to section 6 of said charter ; and I 
therefore called said meeting, by "giving thirty days' picblic notice of 
the time amd place of holding the same, by advertisemt.nt * * * 
in neiospapers published in Washington city, Rockville, Frederick, and 
Hagerstoion," according to section 5 of charter. 

J. W. DEEBLE, 
Secretary Metropolitan Railroad Company. 

March 30, 1860. 

Sworn before — 

JENKIN THOMAS, J. P. 



Treasurer's Second Annual Report. 
Metropolitan Railroad Company in account with J. W. Deehle, Treasurer . 

Dr. 

To expenditures on account of — 

Engineers' expenses, (salaries excepted,) |1,415 43 

Contingent expenses ,. 781 45 

Engineers' pay 12,892 08 

Commissioners' pay .., 12 00 

President's salary 1,500 00 

Salary of land commissioner for Montgomery county 600 00 

Salary of secretary and treasurer 1_,206 52 

Directors' expenses 145 38 

Construction 50 00 

Balance on deposit to credit of the company 6,683 81 



25,286 67 
Cr. 
By balance reported on deposit July 1, 1854 95,286 67 

J. W. DEEBLE, Treasurer. 
E. E. 

Metropolitan Railroad Office, 

Georgetown^ D. C, July 1, 1855. 



52 METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

The date attached to the treasurer's first annual report, as appears 
in the '' Memorial of a select committee of the directors of the Metro- 
politan Railroad Company," is typographically incorrect. It should 
have been July 1, 1854, and not July 1, 1853. 

J. W. DEEBLE, Treasurer, 



Treasurer's Third Annual Eeport. 
Metropolitan Railroad Company in account with J. W. Deehle, Treasurer. 

Dr. 

To exp)enditures on account of — 

Engineers' expenses, (salaries excepted,) §68 19 

Contingent expenses 746 62 

Engineers' pay 1,388 89 

Salary of secretary and treasurer 557 77 

Directors' expenses 105 81 

Farmers and Mechanics' Bank stock 5,600 00 

Construction.... 4,165 04 

Balance on deposit 79 74 

12,712 06 
Or. 

By balance reported on deposit July 1, 1855... $6,683 81 
By receipts on account of second installment... 145 00 

By dividend on bank stock 240 00 

By bank stock sold 5,643 25 

12,712 06 



Eespectfully submitted. 

J. W. DEEBLE, Treasurer. 

E. E. 

Metropolitan Railroad Office, 

Georgetoivn, D. C.j July 1, 1856. 

The balance above reported ($79 74) was subsequently expended. 

J. W. DEEBLE, Treasurer. 



METEOPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 53 

No. 3. 
Legal opinion of Joseph H. Bradley , Esq. 

The bill^ as originally reported, is defective, and subject to Mr. 
Benjamin's criticism, but there can be no difficulty in so amending 
it as to obviate all the objections he has interposed. 

The facts substantially are : That Congress passed an act in antici- 
pation of the legislation of Maryland, by which they granted the right 
of way in the District of Columbia to such company as might there- 
after be chartered by the State of Maryland, to make a railroad from 
the district to some point on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, at or 
near the Point of Rocks. Subsequently, the legislature of Maryland 
passed certain acts creating a company to make a road from George- 
town to the Point of Rocks. That company was formed, laid out the 
road and fixed its terminus in Georgetown. They now ask from Con- 
gress the right to extend the road from its terminus in Georgetown, 
by certain routes, to certain termini in the city of Washington. 

It is said to be a foreign corporation, and that Congress cannot 
enlarge its powers. Without stopping to examine the weight of this 
objection, it is sufficient to say, Congress undoubtedly has power to 
pass a law enacting, by reference, the charter granted by Maryland. 
And they further have power to annex to the grant certain other 
powers and conditions, in addition to those already contained in it, 
unless this can be prevented by the opposition of some one or more 
of its stockholders. 

It is material, then, to inquire whether a stockholder can prevent 
the corporate majority of an incorporated company from accepting a 
modification of their charter ? It is not material whether application 
is made for it by a majority, as it all turns on the acceptance. 

A long series of cases in England and this country has settled that 
an act of incorporation is a two-fold contract — a contract between the 
State and the corporation, and between the corporators themselves, 
and neither the government nor the corporators can impair the obli- 
gation of their contract, respectively. And a court of chancery has 
jurisdiction, on the application of a single corporator or more, to re- 
strain the violation of either in a proper case, and enforce it on 
others. 

The cases are collected in the edition of 1858 of Angel and Ames 
on corporations, sections 391, 392, 393, (and see Dodge vs. Woolsey, 
18 How. 341, 342, 343, 344.) 

The president and directors, or any other agents by which the cor- 
poration acts, or a corporate majority, are all alike subject to this 
jurisdiction, so that the powers, rights, and duties of the corporation 
shall all be kept within the limits of the charter. Its stock cannot 
be increased, its proper business changed, as from a railroad to a 
canal, or a life to a marine insurance, or a new and difierent or ad- 
ditional road be made, or any such like act, without the authority of 
the legislature or the assent of each individual stockholder. 

But the proposition here is entirely different. It is to give new 
powers to — to add to, to limit and define other powers ; in fine, to 



54 METROI'OLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 

amend the charter, subject, of course, to the acceptance of the 
company. 

It is an admitted rule that the majority in corporations must 
govern. The majority is generally provided for in the charter. The 
majority may accept a new or amended charter. It may even work 
a dissolution, if it cannot dissolve the com])any — that is, it may wind 
up its affiiirs before the expiration of the charter. 

Indeed, if it were otherwise, and they could not accept, the great 
object and end of all corporations in which the public is interested, 
and which alone justifies and authorizes the condemnation of the 
land of a private citizen for the public good, would be defeated, and 
the injury resulting from such condemnation would be without re- 
dress. Put the case of this road, with a charter allowing a capital of 
$2,000,000, and the whole of it expended before the road had reached 
its terminus, the company has no power to enlarge its capital or in- 
crease its stock without the authority of the legislature ; and, accord- 
ing to this proposition, the legislature could not lawfully grant it if 
one perverse and obstinate man owning one single share should op- 
pose it. 

The difference consists in this, that while no power, either legisla- 
tive or social, can do anything not authorized by an existing charter, 
that charter can be modified by the legislature, with the consent of 
the corporation, speaking by its proper exponent a corporate majority, 
so as to accomplish that which neither alone could do. And it would 
be a fruitless starch among the judicial decisions, which have been for 
a quarter of a century molding and shaping the law of corporations, 
for a single case to give any countenance, even by argument, to the 
idea that any number of corporators less than a corporate majority 
could prevent the acceptance of an amendment of the charter. 

There is, however, this distinction to be taken, that while it is com- 
petent for the majority of the company to ap])ly for and accept an 
amendment to its charter, such amendment will bind the minority 
only in cases in which it is to effect the original design of the corpo- 
rators. But so soon as it makes a fundamental change in the organi- 
zation itself, the objects of the association, or the particular purpose 
for which it was formed, it ceases to be obligatory on the minority. 
The question whether it does or not make this material and funda- 
mental change, is a question for the courts exclusively, and will de- 
pend not upon authority so much as on the peculiar circumstances of 
each particular case, and the result to which the mind of the judge 
may be brought by them. 

Another question then arises, What are the rights of the minority? 
Undoubtedly, any dissenting stockholder, or any number of them, 
may apply to a court of equity for relief, and if the full subscription 
has not been paid, that court may restrain the company from enforcing 
it , or, if it has been paid in full, may restrain the company from 
using the corporate funds or their profits in furtherance of this new 
design. So far the courts have gone. It. is possible, nay probable, 
in such cases, that the court would go further and decree an account, 
and make the company j)ay to such dissentient the value of his stock. 

I apprehend the general principle will be found to be the same in 



METROPOLITAN RAILROAD COMPANY. 55 

England and in this country, except in those States in which, in the 
grant of the charter or by general law, it is provided that the legis- 
lature may modify and repeal all such charters. 

The leading cases in England will he found to he Ware vs. The 
Grand Junction Water Company, 2 Russ. & Mylne, 470, 483 ; Mid- 
land Railway Company vs. Gordon, 16 M. & W., 802 ; Stevens vs. 
The Southdown Railway Company, 13 Beav., 48 ; Ffooks vs. London 
and Southwest Railway Company, 19 L. & Eq., 7. 

In the United States, Stevens vs. The Rutland and Burlington Rail- 
road Company, 3 Williams, (29 Vermont R.) in the appendix, in 
which most of the authorities to that date will be found ; McCray vs. 
Junction Railroad, 9 Ind. 358 ; Boode vs. Junction Railroad, 10 Ind. 
93 ; and the Buffalo and New York City Railroad vs. Dudley, 4 Ker- 
nan, (14 N. Y.) 385, where the case of the Hartford and New Haven 
Railroad Company vs. Croswell will be found commented on. 
It is therefore advisable in the present act to provide — 
First. Re-enact the Maryland charter, with the additional power to 
extend the road from the terminus in Georgetown to such termini and 
by such routes as may he prescribed in the bill. 

Second. To provide that such and so many of the stockholders of 
the company as shall by a day certain accept in writing this amend- 
ment, shall be assessed with, or their subscriptions applied to the con- 
struction of this branch, with power to them to increase their sub- 
scriptions, as they may see fit, to an amount necessary to complete 
the work ; in default thereof, that the president and directors, after 
due notice, may open their books for further subscriptions, to be ap- 
plied to this enlargement of the work. 

The view thus briefly sketched might he greatly enlarged by con- 
siderations growing out of and connected with these great arteries of 
intercommunication, in which the public has a direct interest, and for 
which private property is allowed to be taken for public use ; and in 
this particular case much might be said of the importance to the gov- 
ernment in its postal arrangements, and its preparations for the com- 
mon defence, in uniting this road, near the base of the Capitol, with 
the great northern and southern route. But such questions are rather 
for the legislature than the lawyer, and all that has been said is rather 
to suggest than to argue the right and propriety of this amendment. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ I No. 567. 



WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY. 

[To accompany Bill H. R. No. 769.] 



May 24, 1860. 



Mr. Hughes, from a minority of the Committee on the District of 
Columbia, submitted the following 

MINORITY REPORT. 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to lohom was refey^ed the 
memorial of the Washington National Monument Society, ask leave 
to report : 

The memorial states that in the year 1833 they and their prede- 
cessors united themselves into a society for the purpose of erecting 
" a groat national monument to the memory of Washington, at the 
seat of the federal government ;" that during the interval between 
that year and the year 1848 they had, by means of private contribu- 
tions from their fellow-citizens throughout the Union, which at conve- 
nient times were profitably invested, accumulated a fund deemed suffi- 
cient to justify them in commencing to build the monument ; that the 
corner-stone of it was, on the 4th of July, 1848, laid on a site granted 
for that purpose under the authority of Congress ; that the work was 
prosecuted for six years by means of similar contributions, until one- 
third of the shaft of the proposed monument was erected ; that then 
the memorialists, having exhausted the means placed at their disposal 
by the patriotism of individuals, submitted a succinct statement of the 
history of the enterprise to the consideration of Congress, for such 
action "as to the assembled wisdom and patriotism of the nation 
might seem meet ;" that their memorial on that occasion was referred 
by the House of Representatives to a select committee, consisting of 
thirteen members ; that this select committee, after a careful and mi- 
nute examination of the whole subject, made a report on the 22d of 
February, 1855, in which the proceedings of the society were reviewed, 
its conduct was approved, and a subscription by Congress of $200,000 
in aid of the monument was recommended ; that no further action in 
relation to the monument was had in Congress until February, 1859, 
■when the memorialists received from Congress a charter of incorpora- 
tion ; that they had since taken such preliminary steps as seemed con- 
ducive to the completion of the monument, but had not obtained funds 
more than enough for the conservation of the work already done ; and 
that under these circumstances they felt it to be their duty again to 
submit the subject to the consideration of Congress. 



2 WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT SOCIETY. 

The report of tlie select committee, of February 22, 1855, (H. R. 
Eep. No. 94, 33cl Cong., 2d sess-,) presents a succinct but sufficiently 
detailed statement of the proceedings of the society which originated 
this great work, and which is now acting under a charter of incorpo- 
ration. That committee, after examining the books, papers, accounts, 
and officers of the society, bears unanimous and emphatic testimony 
to the disinterestedness and fidelity of their services ; states that at 
the date of the report the shaft had reached the height of 170 feet, and 
that the sum of $2.)0,000 had been expended on the work ; that it is 
intended to raise the shaft to the height of 517 fieet; and that the 
work was estimated to cost, when com])leted, |1,122,000. The select 
committee recommend that Congress should subscribe, on behalf of 
the peo})le of the United States, the sum of $200,000, to aid the so- 
ciety in completing the work. This is the amount which, on the 4tli 
of January, 1801, the House of Representatives passed a bill to appro- 
priate for erecting a mausoleum " for George Washington in the city 
of Washington." 

Your committee find no reason for dissenting from the views unani- 
mously taken by the select committee in the report already cited. We 
cannot but regard the proceedings adopted by Congress shortly after 
the death of Washington as pledging the public faith to the erection 
of a suitable monument to his memory. It cannot be doubted that 
the pledge was given in full consonance with the feelings and wishes 
of the whole country. Whatever may be said to excuse or explain 
the delay which has been suffered in redeeming the pledge, the con- 
tributious of nearly a quarter of a million of dollars which individual 
citizens have already made towards erecting a monument to the father 
of his country abundantly shows that its completion is an object dear 
to the hearts of the people. They cannot understand why the uni- 
versal custom of free States in all ages of the world, to commemorate 
by monumental representations deeds of patriotism and glory, has so 
long been disregarded in the instance of the noblest of all national 
benefactors. 

Your committee recommend that the sum of $200,000 be appropri- 
ated by Congress, on behalf of the people of the United States, to aid 
the memorialists in completing the monument to Washington now in 
the process of erection at the seat of the federal government. But 
they are of opinion that this amount ought to be disbursed in annual 
sums of $20,000 for each fiscal year ; that each annual instalment be 
paid to the treasurer of the society, on a joint warrant, to be signed 
by the chairmen of the committees of the two Houses of Congress for 
the District of Columbia ; and that the accounts of disbursements be 
settled at the treasury in the usual mode of auditing the accounts of 
disbursing agents. We report herewith a bill accordingly. 



36th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 
1st Session. \ ( No. 582. 



WILLIAM HUTCHINSON. 



May 25, 1860, — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Edgeeton, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of GolumMa, to lohom was referred the 
petition of William Hutchinson, ivho claims pay for extra servicfs 
performed lohile superintending the making and burning bricks for the 
construction of the Insane Hospital, in the District of Columbia, report : 

The committee have examined the testimony in the case, and are of 
the opinion that the petitioner has been paid in full for his services, 
and they submit the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the petitioner, William Hutchinson, is not entitled 
to relief. 



37th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 
Id Session. ) j No. 11. 



VISITORS TO THE JAIL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Januaut 17, 1862. — Ordered to be printed, <ind the further consideration postponed to 

Friday, the 24th instant. 



Mr. Delano, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

REPORT. 

The Committee for the District of Columbia, in onsioer to the House 
resolution of the IS/A instant, respedfully report: 

That they have made inquiry as to what orders have been issued 
by Ward H. Lamon, marshal of the District, designed to exclude 
senators, representatives, and others from admission to the District 
jail as visitors, and they submit the following as the result of their 
inquiry: 

The marshal of the District has by law the exclusive custody of the 
jail, and is responsible for the safe detention of all persons there 
confined. 

Prior to the 6th of January instant, it is believed that no specific 
regulations on the subject of admissions to that institution had been 
adopted by the marshal, but it was left to the subordinate officers to 
admit or exclude visitors at discretion. 

On or immediately after the 6th of January, and at a time when 
committees of Congress were seeking a personal inspection of the 
jail, and otherwise pursuing their investigations as to its condition 
and management, the committee believe that the marshal, for reasons 
best known to himself, did moke a tem]:orary order to the effect that 
no person should be admitted ivithoid a special permit from himself 
or unless accompanied by him. This order was most scrupulously 
observed by his sub-officials, at least so far as senators and representa- 
tives were concerned, some of whom were denied admission undor it, 
till Monday the 13th instant, when a new and more discriminating 
set of regulations Avas promulgated in writing, which, together with 
the reasons for issuing them, are contained in the following commu- 
nication of the marshal to the Speaker of the House, viz : 

United States Marshal's Office, 

Washington, D. C, January 13, 1862. 
Sir: Applications are frequently made by improper persons for ad- 
mission into the public jail of Washington county as visitors, and the 



2 VISITORS TO JAIL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

necessity of excluding ull persons as visitors, without a jjass, has 
sometimes occasioned inconvenience to officers of the government 
who have desired such admission. By the act of the 27th of Feb- 
ruary, 1801, it is provided that the marshal of the District shall h^ive 
the custody of the jail, and shall be accountable for the safe-keeping 
of all prisoners legally committed therein; and in the exercise of 
these duties, I have deemed it proper, both for the security of the 
prisoners and the convenience of those who may desire to inspect 
the jail, to make the following regulations, which are respectfully 
submitted to the House of Representatives, viz: 

1. The President of the United States and the members of the 
cabinet. 

2. The judges of the Supreme Court and judges of other courts of 
record in the District of Columbia. 

3. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives — 

shall all be admitted at their pleasure. 

4. Members of the Senate of the United States shall be admitted 
upon a pass, in writing, signed by the President of the Senate of the 
United States. 

5. Members of the House of Representatives of the United States 
shall be admitted upon a written pass signed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. 

G. All other persons except the above named shall be admitted by 
obtaining a written pass from the marshal of the District of Columbia, 
and not otherwise. 

7. The public jailoi shall keep a record of the names and the date 
of the admission of all visitors into the jail. 

I would most respectfully ask that these regulations be made known 
to the honorable House of Representatives. 

1 have the honor to be j^our obedient servant. 

WARD H. LAMON, 
U. S. Marslial for District of Columbia. 
The honorable Speaker 

of the House of Representatives of the United States. 

Such being the facts, as understood by the committee, they beg 
leave further to say, that considering the hitherto unregulated sj'stem 
of admissions to this institution, which in the marshal's judgment had 
become greatly abused, the}' cannot but regard it as a matter strictly 
within his official discretion to prescribe such new and reasonable reg- 
ulations as would remedy the existing abuse. Exercising this dis- 
cretion, he has seen fit to issue the orders alread}^ recited, and though 
we cannot see the necessity of subjecting senators and members of 
the House to the idle ceremony of qualifying themselves with passes 
from the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House, and while 
we are clear that any public officer luho is not more careful of his own 
convenience than that of the legislative body for the District, would 
take some pains io facilitate ratlier than obstruct the most ready access 



VISITORS TO JAIL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 3 

to the public institutions of the District, yet we cannot say there is 
anything so palpably oppressive or onerous in this specific regulation 
of the marshal as to call for the special intervention of the House. 
We hardly think the inflation of a " little brief authority ' ' on the 
part of that functionary ought to attract the attention of Congress 
from its more serious concerns. 

The committee therefore ask to be discharged from the further 
consideration of the resolution referred to them. 



37th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIYES. J Report 
2d Session. \ 1 No. 39. 



J. W. NYE. 

[To accompany bills H. R. Nos. 297 and 298.] 



Februaey 25, 1862. — Ordered to be i^rinted. 



Mr. Calvert, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

EEPOET. 

The Committee for the District of Columhia, to ivhom ivas referred the 
memorial of J. W. Nye^ submit the following report : 

That there are three distinct claims presented against the govern r 
ment by this claimant, which will be described in the order in which 
they appear to have originated. These claims have been so long 
before Congress, and have been so frequently and thoroughly 
examined and reported upon by our predecessors, that it is not 
deemed necessary to enter into a minute examination of all the items 
of each, but simply to state the general principles and evidence upon 
which they are founded. 

In 1832 contracts were entered into by the Commissioner of Public 
Buildings, by virtue of an act of Congress, with Peter Bargy, jr., and' 
Hugh Stewart, for macadamizing Pennsylvania avenue, and the con- 
tractors entered vigorously upon their work, as they were limited to 
a certain period for the completion of the same. In a very short time 
after commencing operations the Asiatic cholera broke out in "Wash- 
ington, and raged to such an extent as to alarm and drive off many 
of the laborers engaged on the work. Under these circumstances 
the contractors applied to the Commissioner to be allowed to suspend 
the work until this scourge should subside. 

The Commissioner not only refused this reasonable request, but 
he went much further and interfered with the rights of the con- 
tractors by employing a physician to go among the laborers to advise 
them not to perform the usual amount of labor required of them. In 
consequence of this advice, it is proved by Mr. Ford that the con- 
tractors were compelled to nearly double the amount of wages paid 
the men, at a time when they were not obtaining more than half the 
amount of labor from them. 

After several favorable reports of committees of both houses of 
Congress on this claim, it was submitted, in 1841, to the Committee 
on Public Buildings and Grounds, and elicited a very able report from 



2 J. W. NYE. 

Mr. Leonard, of that committee, which, after reviewing the whole 
case, adopted the principle that the contractors were equitably enti- 
tled to a full allowance of all that they had lost by the refusal of the 
Commissioner to allow them to suspend the work during the preva- 
lence of the cholera, and his further interference with the labor of 
the men. This report has been furthermore sustained by that of Mr. 
Cobb, in 1844, from a select committee appointed to investigate the 
same claim, and again, in 1858, by the report of Mr. E. Joy Morris, 
from the Committee for the District of Columbia. 

Mr. Nye was a sub-contractor under Bargy & Stewart, and brought 
suit against those parties to recover the large amount of their indebt- 
edness to him; but at the instance of several members of Congress 
who had investigated their claim, he was induced to release them and 
take their assignment of this claim in full satisfaction of the debt due 
him. Your committee would refer particularly to the report made in 
the Senate by Mr. Hubbard, in 1838, and to that of Mr. Mallory, in 
the House, in the same year, and to those of Mr. Leonard, in the 
House, in 1841, and Mr. Morris, in the House, in the year 1858, and 
recommend the passage of the bill introduced by the latter, herewith 
-enclosed. 

The second claim of J. W. Nye for damages and losses sustained 
iby being deprived of a lease is founded on a lease obtained in 1843 
:from the President of the United States for a certain piece of ground, 
'being the lot on which the botanic garden is located. 

The conditions of this contract required a very heavy outlay in 
making certain improvements, which were not completed until three 
years of his lease had expired. The terms were fully complied with 
to the satisfaction of the Commissioner under whom the contract was 
made; but in one year after the completion of these improvements a 
new Commissioner was appointed, by whom Mr. 'Nye was forcibly 
ejected from the premises. His crops were harvested and sold for 
the benefit of the United States; and by these illegal acts of a gov- 
ernment official, he was deprived of his property, and the profits 
arising from it, for six out of the seven years that it would have been 
productive. 

To substantiate this claim, Mr. Nye produces a certified copy of 
the lease, executed by John Tyler, President of the United States, 
in 1843, with an indorsement made by the same party in 1856, de- 
claring that the act of the Commissioner in dispossessing Mr. Nye was 
in defiance of law and justice. In making these improvements, Mr. 
Nye never supposed for a moment that he could have any future 
claim against the government for the cost thereof, as he could not 
foresee any such injustice as a forcible ejection from the premises 
before the termination of his lease, when the property reverted back 
to the government, with the improvements, and therefore he never 
kept a strict account of the cost thereof. 

In the 34th Congress a bill passed the House of Representatives 
awarding him $3,200 on account of this claim, being a liquidation of 
so much of the cost of these improvements as he had vouchers to 
sustain; but when it was taken up in the Senate, it was insisted that 



J. W. NYE. 6 

these improvements required further investigation, and a sworn 
measurer was employed to a make a report on the value of the same. 
This estimate, which is made a part of Mr. Nye's memorial, shows 
that these improvements were worth $7,982 84. As it Avas late in 
the session when this report of the measurer was received, it was 
feared, if the Senate should amend the bill by putting in the full 
amount thus found to be justly due Mr. Nye, it could not become a 
law at that session, and therefore Mr. Nye was advised to take the 
bill as it stood, and make another application the next session for the 
residue. Each succeeding Congress has recognized his right to the 
balance of this claim by reporting bills for his relief, but at so late 
a period of the session that they have failed to become laws. 

Your committee therefore make the following statement of his 
account, and recommend the passage of the accompanying bill for his 
relief. 

The United States to J. W. Nye, Dr. 

To value of improvements by report of sworn measurer- • $7,982 84 

Cr. — By use of ground for one-seventh of 
time he was entitled to same after 

making the improvement $1, 140 40 

By cash from sale of materials 210 00 

By cash received 3, 200 00 

4,550 40 



To balance due J. W. Nye 3,432 44 



A contract was entered into on the 15th of January, 1844, between 
John M. Johnson, esq., (postmaster of the House of Representatives,) 
and Mr. J. W. Nye, which received the unanimous approval of the 
Committee of Accounts. It is stipulated in that contract that the 
said Nye should furnish "three horses and three one-horse carriages 
for the use of the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 
28th Congress, and hauling all the boxes and other articles for the 
use of the House of Representatives for the remainder of the 28th 
Congress, and to pay unto the said party of the second part one 
dollar and seventy cents per day for the use of each horse and car- 
riage, or the same paid therefor during the 27th Congress ; also the 
same prices for the boxes and other articles as were paid for the same 
during the last Congress." 

It is proved by the atEdavit of Mr. Hill, assistant postmaster of the 
House, (taken before the Committee of Accounts of the 28th Con- 
gress,) that Mr. Nye entered faithfully on the work, and both he and 
his son rendered very valuable assistance to the office, gratuitously, 
outside of his contract ; ' ' that he never heard any complaint from 
Mr. Johnson, or any of his messengers, of Mr. Nye or any of the pro- 
perty until Mr. Nye complained of the abusive and destructive manner 
in which his property was used. Mr. Nye frequently complained to 



4 J, W. NYE. 

Mr. Johnson of tlie abusive and destructive manner in which they 
were using his property, both verbal'y and in writing; to any of 
which, as far as I have any knowledge, Mr. Johnson never paid the 
least attention ; always found Mr. Nye very kind and accommodating 
in rendering us any assistance, marking boxes, or anything we might 
want of him ; always found a horse and cart at the stables and a 
person ready to drive whenever wanted to do the hauling. Until the 
chairman of accounts called on Mr. Johnson and informed him that 
the hauling belonged to Mr. Nye and he must have it, Mr. Johnson 
preferred to let John Lee do it ; heard Johnson say he would take 
the contract from Nye if he could ; that Nye should have nothing to 
do about the Capitol if he could prevent it." 

The honorable George B. Rodney, of the House of Representatives, 
proves that the Committee on Accounts examined the condition of 
Mr. Nye's horses and carryalls, and pronounced them sufficiently 
good for the service. 

It is proved by the affidavits of a number of respectable witnesses, 
before the Committee of Accounts, that Mr. Nye suffered great loss 
from the neglect of Mr, Johnson to employ proper persons as mes- 
sengers ; that his horses were killed and his carryalls and harness 
destroyed by the neglect and carelessness of the messengers employed 
by Mr. Johnson. 

The report of B. B. French, esq., shows that during the years 1844 
and 1845, there was paid to others than J. W. Nye the amount due 
for 958 days' use of carryall and horse, Avhich at the contract price 
of $170, amounts to $1,628 60, and that there was also paid to other 
parties for hauling boxes and other articles the sura of $351 24, which, 
with the $1,628 60 previously mentioned, makes the gross sum of 
$1,979 84, all of which rightfully belonged to the claimant, J. W. 
Nye, under his contract. 

From all the evidence it is perfectly clear that J. W. Nye complied 
with his portion of the contract, and that he suffered great loss and 
injury from the failure of an officer of the government to protect 
him in his just rights. It was as much the duty of Mr. Johnson, 
under that contract, to see that the proj)erty of Mr. Nye was not 
unnecessarily abused or injured as it was the duty of Mr. Nye to 
furnish the property, and his neglect to do so, and his employment of 
others to do the work that Nye was ready and willing to do, in viola- 
tion of the contract made with Nye, imposes not only an equi- 
table, but a legal obligation on the government to pay this sum of 
$1,979 84, less |525 already paid. This sum only includes the amount 
Avhich should have been received by Mr. Nye under his contract, but 
which was paid to other parties, and does not embrace a just claim 
which he has for damages on account of the wanton destruction of 
his property for at least as much more. In consequence of not 
receiving the amount of this claim in 1845, when it became due, Mr. 
Nye's property was all seized for debt and sold at a ruinous sacrifice, 
as shown by the evidence of Mr. Kimmele. 

Your committee would therefore, for the foregoing reasons, recom- 
mend the passage of the accompanying bills. 



37th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Report 

2d Session. \ 1 No. 58. 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

[To accompany bill H. R. 351.] 



March 12, 1862.— Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Calvert, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

the following 

MINOEITY EEPORT. 

The undersigned, members of the Committee for the District of Columbia, 
beg leave to make the folloiving minority report against the 2Xissage of 
the bill reported from the majority of that committee for the abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia : 

This proposition has been so frequently rejected by Congress, and 
has been so thoroughly discussed by the ablest statesmen of the 
nation, that it would be a useless task for us to attempt to offer any 
new considerations of the subject, and we therefore adopt, in place 
of any argument of our own, the following portion of the very able 
report made to the House of Representatives on the 18th day of 
May, 1836, by a select committee composed of Messrs. Pinckney of 
South Carolina, Hamer of Ohio, Pierce of New Hampshire, Hardin 
of Kentucky, Jarvis of Maine, Owens of Georgia, Muhlenberg of 
Pennsylvania, Dromgoole of Virginia, and Turrele of New York. 

Your committee are instructed to report — 

That, in the opinion of this House, Congress ought not to inter- 
fere in any way with slavery in the District of Columbia. 

1st. Because it would be a violation of the public faith. 

To obey this instruction of the House, in the manner pointed out by 
the resolution, it will be necessary to examine, to some extent, the 
relations between the federal government and the District of Colum- 
bia; the probable objects of the provision in the Constitution, au- 
thorizing the cession of the District to the United States; and the 
consequent expectations which may have been rationally entertained 
by the States that made the cession as to the exercise by Congress 
of the poAvers granted to it over the ceded territory. Before enter- 
ing upon this examination, however, it may be well to remark that 
the powers of Congress over this District involved in this discussion 
are wholly independent of, and derived from a source entirely sepa- 



2 SLAVERY IX THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

rate from, the general legislative powers granted to Congress by the 
Constitution. As the legislature of confederated States, the powers 
of Congress are equal and of universal application throughout all the 
States, and they were given to Congress before the cession of the 
District, and were held and exercised independently thereof. This 
will be made manifest by a brief statement of facts. The first Con- 
gress, under the Constitution, assembled on the 4th of March, 1789, 
and the government provided for by the Constitution Avas organized 
on that day. The general powers conferred on the different branches 
of the federal government were exercised from that day forward; 
and the Union of the States, under constitutional government, was 
then perfected and put in practical operation. The cession from Vir- 
ginia of that portion of the -District of Columbia that belonged to 
her was not made until the 3d of December of that year, nine months 
after the federal government had been in operation;* and the cession 
by Maryland of that portion of the District that belonged to her, 
(and in which the seat of government is in fact located) was not made 
until the 19th da}' of December, 1791, t more than two years and nine 
months after the existence of the government in its present constitu- 
tional form. Congress did not, in fact, remove to the District thus 
ceded, nor did the District thus ceded become practically the seat of 
government until the year 1800; and the laws of the States by which 
the District was ceded were declared by an act of Congress of the 
16th of July, 1790, :j: to "be in force within the District until the 
removal of the government to it, and until Congress shall otherwise 
by law direct." 

It appears, then, that the federal government Avas in operation 

under the Constitution nearly a year before Congress possessed any 

power of local legislation over any portion of the District of Columbia. 

and nearly three years before that poAver became as extensive as the 

present bounds of the District, or included that portion of the ten 

miles square in which the seat of government is in fact located. It 

also appears that the first act of the federal legislature in reference 

to its jurisdiction then partly acquired, and partly to be acquired, 

was to provide for the continuance, in all their force and in every 

particular within the District, of the laws of the States that made the 

cession, until December, 1800, a period of nine years after the time 

when the powers of Congress, as a local legislature for the District, 

were perfected by the State of Maryland. Xor is this all. By the 

act of 1790 it was declared, as has been already shoAvn, that the laws 

of Maryland and Virginia should be the laws of the District, not only 

"until the time fixed for the removal of the government thereto," 

but also "until Congress shall otherwise provide by law." No 

alteration, however, to any considerable extent has yet been made, 

and the laws of Virginia and Maryland Avhich were in force at the 

time of their respective cessions, and in force respectively in the 

*> Laws District of Columlua, p. 59. f Laws District of Columbia, p. 64. 

I Laws United States, vol. ii, p. 113. 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 6 

■portions of the District ceded by each, still continue to be in almost 
every particular the local laws of the District of Columbia. 

Such are the relations at present existing between the federal gov- 
ernment and the District, so far as local legislation is concerned. The 
powers of Congress, as the local legislature of the District, were de- 
rived from the cessions by Virginia and Maryland, and the special 
grant of exclusive legislation, and not from the general powers con- 
ferred upon it by the Constitution; and these special and local powers, 
which Congress has now possessed for nearly half a century, have been 
exercised only to the extent above described, and, from the best in- 
formation your committee have been able to obtain, to no other or 
greater extent. 

The right of Congress to accept the cession of this territory from 
the States of Virginia and Maryland is found in the eighth section of 
the first article of the Constitution of the United States, which gives 
it power "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever 
over such District, not exceeding ten miles square, as may by cession 
of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of government of the United States;" and the purpose for which the 
cession was to be made and received is declared, in the language of 
the Constitution itself, " such District as may become the seat of gov- 
ernment of the United States." The session, therefore, was to be 
made for this purpose and for no other; and, as regards its use by 
the federal govermuent, the object of this provision evidently was 
simply to authorize Congress to accept the grant and to exercise the 
powers of legislation therein provided for. 

It will be conceded by the committee, for the purpose of this re- 
port, that the cession was made in conformity with the power of 
Congress to receive, and that, therefore, by the cession from Vir- 
ginia and Maryland, Congress is in possession of the powers which 
the Constitution intended it should possess over the district intended 
to be ceded. 

This brings us to the inquiry as to the probable objects of the 
grant of "exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever" over the 
territory which was to constitute the seat of government of the United 
States. In consulting the commentators upon the Constitution, it 
Avill be found that the old Congress encountered inconveniences and 
even dangers from holding their sessions where State legislatures had 
exclusive local jurisdiction, and where State authorities alone were to 
be depended on in matters of police and personal protection. In- 
deed, an adjournment of that Congress from the State of Pennsyl- 
vania to New Jersey for a cause of this description, which occurred 
at the close of the revolutionary war, no doubt contributed greatly to 
the introduction of this clause into the Constitution of the Union. 
The proceedings of the old Congress show distinctly that the acquire- 
ment of a territory for the seat of the federal legislature, over which 
it should have exclusive or special jurisdiction, was a favorite idea 
with that body as early as the year 1783, and that it continued up to 
the time of the formation of the Constitution. Upon this point your 
committee will only detain the House with a few of the resolutions 



4 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

adopted by the old Congress that go to establish it. On the 7th of 
October, 1783, a resolution Avas passed "that buildings for the use 
of Congress be erected on or near the banks of the Delaware,* pro- 
vided a suitable district can be procured on or near the banks of the 
said river for a federal town, and that the right of soil, and exclusive, 
or such other jurisdiction as Congress may direct, shall be vested in 
the United States." On the 21st of the same ntonth (October, 1783,) 
another resolution was passed, preceded by a preamble as follows: 
" Whereas there is reason to expect that the providing buildings for 
the alternate residence of Congress in two places will be productive 
of the most salutary effects, by securing the mutual confidence and 
affections of the States, Resolved, That buildings be provided for the 
use of Congress at or near the lower falls of the Potomac, t or George- 
town, provided a suitable district on the banks of the river can be 
procured for a federal town, and the right of soil, and an exclusive 
jurisdiction, or such other as Congress may direct, shall be vested in 
the United States." 

On the 20th of December, 1784, the old Congress passed, among 
others, the following resolutions: 

'■''Resolved, That it is expedient that Congress proceed to take 
measures for procuring suitable buildings to be erected for their 
accommodation. 

^'Besolved, That it is inexpedient for Congress at this time to erect 
public buildings for their accommodation at more than one place." 

These resolutions by the continental Congress, as to the expediency 
and necessity for a territory for the seat of the federal government^ 
over which it should have peculiar if not exclusive jurisdiction, are 
produced to show the origin of the provision in the Constitution upon 
that subject, and the object for which the acquisition of such a terri- 
tory was desired. That object, beyond all question, was to secure a 
seat for the federal government, where the power of self-protection 
should be ample and complete, and where it might be exercised with- 
out collision or conflict with the legislative powers of any of the 
States, so far as its exercise should be required for the great national 
purposes for which the peculiar or exclusive jurisdiction was sought 
to be obtained. The jurisdiction was made exclusive, not as your 
committee believe, and as they think every considerate citizen will 
admit, to change the object of the grant of the jurisdiction when it 
should be made, but to secure that object more effectually by making 
the federal government independent of State interference and of State 
protection Avithin the district where it was to be located, and where 
its deliberations should be held. Had the legislative power of Con- 
gress over this District not been made exclusive, one of the great and 
wise objects intended to be secured, the prevention of conflict between 
federal and State legislation, would have been necessarily defeated. 
Every statesman Avill admit the extreme inconvenience and danger of 
granting powers of legislation of the same character, and to be exer- 
cised within the same territory, (powers of local and municipal legis- 
lation,) to two distinct and independent legislative bodies; and the 

o Journals of the Old Congress, vol. iv, p. 288. f Journals of the Old Congres.s, p. 299. 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. O 

extreme difficulty, if not impossibility, of so defining the portions of 
power to be exercised by each, as to prevent constant conflict 
and collision. This must have been the result if any division of 
the powers of local legislation within the District of Columbia had 
been made between Congress and the States, by which the territory 
was ceded to the United States. Congress required all that power 
which, through all time, would be indispensably necessary for its own 
protection, and also to render all the departments of the federal gov- 
ernment independent of State authority, and entirely dependent on, 
.and obedient to, the federal legislature, and it alone, in all matters of 
police or municipal legislation. The adoption of the federal Consti- 
tution by the people of the several States with this provision in it, 
shows that the attainment of these objects was considered of para- 
mount importance; and hence, in the judgment of your committee, 
the power in question was made exclusive. 

Assuming the correctness of these premises, the next inquiry is, 
what expectations were the States by which the District was ceded, 
as w^ell as their sister States, authorized to entertain as to the exercise 
•by Congress of the legislative powers derived from these cessions? 
The cessions included not only a portion of the territory of those 
States, but also a portion of their citizens. To secure the great 
national objects intended b}^ the cession, the jurisdiction of the States 
over those citizens, as well as over the territory of the district, was 
transferred to the federal legislature. This transfer, from the neces- 
sity of the case, abridged the rights of the citizens within the terri- 
tory, who had been formerly entitled to vote for their legislators and 
other rulers, by subjecting them to a government composed of per- 
sons in whose election they were to have no choice. Their govern- 
ance, however, was confided to those intrusted with the common 
government of all the States; and when we reflect upon the confidence 
reposed in Congress by the States that made the transfer, and by the 
citizens transferred, it accounts at once for the readiness with which 
the cession was affected. Still, the question recurs, what expecta- 
tions might reasonably be entertained by the States making the ces- 
sion, by the other States of the confederacy, so far as their interests 
were directly or indirectly involved, and by the citizens thus placed 
under the peculiar care of Congress, as to its exercise of the powers 
■conferred upon it by this cession of territories for a seat of the federal 
government? 

Your committee have no hesitation to say, in answer to this inquiry, 
that those expectations, by all the parties interested, not only might, 
but must have been, that Congress would exercise the powers con- 
ferred, so far as their exercise should be found necessary for the great 
national objects of the cession, with strict reference to the accom- 
plishment of those objects; and that all other powers conferred by the 
■cession would be exercised with an equally strict reference to the 
interests and welfare of the inhabitants of the District — those citizens 
of two free States who had been made dependent on Congress for 
their local legislation, for the protection of life, liberty, and property — 
rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all the citizens of the con- 
federacy — in order that a seat for the federal o'overnment, subject to 



b SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

the exclusive control of Congress, might be granted to it. If these- 
positions are correct, it follows necessarily that the institutions, the 
customs, the rights, the property, and every other incident pertaining 
to those citizens, and municipal in its character, which they enjoyed 
as citizens of the States to which they belonged before the cession of 
the District^ and which did not then and have not yet interfered with 
the great national rights and privileges intended to be secured by 
the cession, should have been hitherto, and should be in all time to 
come, guarded and preserved with the same paternal care and kind- 
ness Avith which the legislatures of the States to which they belonged 
■would have guarded and protected them if they had continued to-be 
intrusted to their respective jurisdictions. 

Your committee rely confidently upon this as the great rule for the 
foithful action of Congress in reference to this subject. They feel 
assured that no rational man will differ with them. Two questions, 
then, remain to be considered, to determine whether Congress should 
or should not attempt to interfere with slavery in the District of Co- 
lumbia, viz : 

1st. Do the great national objects which were intended to be 
secured to the federal government by the cession of the territory 
require such action on the part of Congress? 

Your committee will make no argument upon so plain a proposi- 
tion. No individual within their knowledge, not even the most de- 
luded fanatic, has ever asked, or attempted to justify, a measure of 
this description upon such a pretext. The security and independ- 
ence of Congress, from the moment of its removal to this District 
to the present hour, have been as perfect as the framers of the Con- 
stitution could have desired. No intimation has ever been heard 
that the existence of slavery in the District of Columbia has ever 
produced the slightest danger or inconvenience either to the inter- 
ests or to the officers of the federal government within it. Surely, 
then, Congress cannot be called upon to interfere with that institu- 
tion within the District as one of its duties growing out of the na- 
tional objects connected with the cession ; and if such interference is 
demanded from it, the demand must grow out of its relations to the- 
District as a local legislature. This brings the committee to the re- 
maining question. 

2d. Would the States of Maryland and Virginia, if tiie cession of 
this territory to the federal government had not been made, from 
anything which has been shown to Congress, be induced to interfere 
with or abolish the institution of domestic slavery within it? 

At the time of the cession from those States slavery existed in 
every portion of their territory, in the same degree and subject to- 
the same laws and regulations by which it was authorized and regu- 
lated in the territory ceded to the federal government. It still exists 
in those States, Avithout any material variation or modification of their 
laAvs respecting it. As those States, then, have not abolished it within 
the territories remaining under their jurisdiction, is it reasonable to- 
suppose that they would have abolished it in the territory comprising 
the District, had they continued to retain their original jurisdiction^ 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 7 

over it? Can any reason whatever be given for the abolition of 
slavery in this particular District which does not apply with equal 
force to every other slaveholding section of the country ? Can any 
cause be shown why the States of Maryland and Virginia would have 
abolished, or would now abolish, slavery in this District, had it con- 
tinued to form a part of those States, respectively, which would not 
have warranted or produced general abolition throughout those 
States ? Most unquestionably not. As those States, then, have not 
abolished slavery in the residue of their territory, it is evident that 
they would not have abolished it in the District of Columbia, if it 
had continued subject to their action. It follows conclusively, there- 
fore, that Congress, as the local legislature of the District, and acting 
independently of the national considerations connected with its 
powers over it, is bound, for the preservation of the public faith and 
the rights of all the parties interested, to act upon the same reasons 
and to exercise the same paternal regard which would have governed 
the States by which the District was ceded to the federal govern- 
ment. And it is unnecessary to add that Congress has acted wisely 
in treating the institutions found in existence at the time of the cession 
as the institutions of the people of the District; in continuing their 
laws and customs, as the laws and customs to which they had been 
used, and which should never be altered or interfered with, except 
where the people themselves may be desirous of a change. 

Your committee must go further, and express their full conviction 
that any interference by Congress with the private interests or 
rights of the citizens of this District, without their consent, would be 
a breach of the faith reposed in the federal government by the States 
that made the cession, and as violent an infraction of private rights 
as it would have been if those States themselves, supposing their 
jurisdiction had remained unimpaired over their territory, had abol- 
ished slavery within those portions of their respective limits, and had 
continued its existence, upon its present basis, in every other portion 
of them. And surely there is no citizen, in any quarter of the coun- 
try, who has the smallest regard for our laws and institutions, State 
and national, or for equal justice, and an equality of rights and privi- 
leges among citizens entitled to it, who would attempt to justify such 
an outrage on the part of those States. The question then is, Are 
the citizens of the District desirous of a change themselves ? Has 
any request or movement been made by them that would justify an 
interference Avith their private rights on the part of Congress ? None 
whatever. The citizens of the District not only have not solicited 
any action on the part of Congress, but it is well known that they 
earnestly deprecate such action, and regard with abhorrence the 
efforts that are made by others, who have no interest whatever in 
the District, to effect it. It is impossible, therefore, that any such 
interference on the part of Congress could be justified, or even pal- 
liated, on the ground that it was sought or desired by those who are 
alone interested in the subject. If, therefore. Congress were to 
interfere witli this description ot" property against the consent of the 
people of the District, your committee feel bound to say that it would 



8 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

be as gross a breach of public faith, and as outrageous an infraction 
of private rights, as it would have been if such interference had 
been committed by the States of Avhich the District was formerly a 
.part, supposing that it never had been ceded to the United States. 

Your committee will here anticipate an objection which may be urged 
against this reasoning and these conclusions. They have shown that the 
powers of Congress over this District divide themselves into two classes, 
national and local; that in reference to the former, the action of 
Congress should be governed by the interests of the whole country, 
so far as they are connected with the branches of the federal govern- 
ment located within the District; that in reference to the latter, its 
poAvers are, and its action should be, those of a local and municipal 
legislature, extending its paternal care and protection over the citizens 
dependent upon, and subjected to, this branch of its authority; that 
in the exercise of its powers, the safest stand in reference to slavery 
is, what Avould the States to which the District originally belonged, 
and of which its citizens Avere originally citizens, have done in case 
their jurisdiction had never been transferred to Congress; and that 
those States Avould certainly not have interfered with the institution 
of slavery in the District had the power to do so remained with them. 
The objection anticipated is that the States in question have pursued 
an unwise policy as to themselves, and that their having done so 
should not have bound Congress, as the local legislature of the Dis- 
trict, to a similar policy in relation to its government. To this, how- 
ever, your committee consider it perfectly conclusive to reply, that 
under our institutions, that people is the best governed which is 
governed most in accordance with its own habits, interests, and 
wishes; that the policy hitherto pursued by Congress, in reference to 
slavery within the District, your committee have every reason to 
believe has been in perfect conformity Avith the wishes and interests 
of the citizens concerned; and that it Avill be time enough for Con- 
gress, acting as the local legislature of the District, and in that capa- 
city bound to consult the governed, as the regulators of its action, 
to move in any matter relating to their private interests and rights 
when they themselves shall ask such movement. 

There is another consideration connected Avith this part of the 
argument which your committee think Avorthy of attention. It is 
this : that there is no law in the District prohibiting the master from 
manumitting his slaves, Avhich he may do at his own discretion, and 
without incurring any responsibility Avhatever. Certain it is that no 
such laAv has been passed by Congress. The citizens of the district, 
therefore, have no necessity for the aid of Congress, should they 
Avish the abolition of slavery among them. They have only to exer- 
cise an existing right, and their Avish Avill bo accomplished. Can 
there be more decisive evidence, then, that they do not Avish the 
abolition of slavery than that it continues to exist among them ? Or 
can any one desire more conclusive proof that any attempt by Con- 
gress to elfect this object by the force of laAv Avould be an inter- 
ference Avitli the rights of priA^ate property, against the Avishes and 
consent of those concerned, and for none of the purposes ibr Avhich 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 9 

Congress is authorized by the Constitution to take private property 
for public use ? 

Hence, your committee believe they have proved, beyond the power 
of contradiction, that an interference by Congress with slavery in the 
District of Columbia would be a violation of the public faith — of the 
faith reposed in Congress by the States which ceded the territory to 
the federal government, so far as the rights and interests of those 
citizens residing within the ceded territory are concerned. 

Your committee will now consider this proposition in reference to 
the interests of the States of Maryland and Virginia. They were 
slaveholding States at the time they made their cession, and they are 
so still. They entirely surround this District, from which they are 
only separated upon all sides by imaginary lines. They made the 
cession for the great national objects which have been already pointed 
out, and they made it from motives of patriotism alone, and without 
any compensation from the federal government for the surrender of 
jurisdiction over commanding positions in both States. The surrender 
was made for purposes deemed sufficiently important, by all the original 
States, to be provided for in the Constitution of the United States; 
and it was made in conformity with that provision of the Constitution. 
It is surely unnecessary, after this statement of facts, to undertake to 
show that those patriotic States made this cession for purposes of 
good to the Union, and consequently to themselves, and not for pur- 
poses of evil to themselves, and consequently to the Union; and that 
the government of the United States accepted the cession for the 
same good, and not for evil purposes. 

If, then, it can be demonstrated that the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia would produce evil, and not good, to the States 
that made the cession, the conclusion is inevitable that such an act on 
the part of Congress would be a violation of the faith reposed in it by 
those States. To all to whom this is not perfectly palpable without 
an argument, the following considerations are presented: 

It has been already said that the States of Maryland and Virginia 
surround the District. It has also been shown that, in reference to 
slavery within the District, the relations of Congress are entirely 
those of a local legislature, and that its action therefore, in this capa- 
city, should be governed by the same reasons which would have 
governed those States themselves in relation to this subject, if their 
jurisdiction over this territory had never been surrendered. Let us 
suppose, then, that this jurisdiction had never been surrendered by 
Maryland and Virginia, and that it was now proposed that they should 
abolish slavery, and relinquish all power of legislation over free 
blacks within the portions of those States which constitute the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, retaining their respective institutions of slavery in 
all the remaining portions of their territory. Who is there that 
would not be amazed at the folly- of such an act ? Who does not see 
that such a step would necessarily produce discontent and insurrec- 
tions in the remaining portions of those States ? Who does not per- 
ceive that under such circumstances the District would constitute at 
once a neutral ground, upon which hosts of free blacks, fugitive 



10 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA. 

slaves, and incendiaries would be assembled in the work of general 
abolitionism; and that from such a magazine of evil every conceivable 
mischief would bo spread througli the surrounding country, with 
almost the rapidity of the movements of the atmosphere ? Surely no 
one can doubt the certainty of the consequential evils in the case 
supposed. How, then, can any doubt or deny the dangers in the case 
before us ? The territory is the same; it is surrounded by the same 
portions of slaveholding States; and the only difference is that in the 
case supposed, the abolition Avould be the work of State authorities, 
Avhile, in the other, it is sought to accomplish it by the authority of 
Congress. The condition of things before and after it is done is the 
same in both cases, and the opportunities for mischief, in case the 
work be accomplished, are equal in both. Can it be necessary to say 
more to establish the position, that any interference with slavery in 
the District of Columbia, on the part of Congress, would be a viola- 
tion of the puplic faith, the faith reposed in Congress by those States, 
and without which they never could have been induced to have made 
that cession. 

It only remains under this head to show that Congress could not inter- 
fere with slavery in the District of Columbia, without a violation of 
the public faith, in reference to the slaveholding States generally, as 
well as to the States of Virginia and Maryland. The provision in 
the Constitution authorizing Congress to accept the cession of a ter- 
ritory for a seat of the federal government, and to exercise exclusive 
jurisdiction over it, was as general and universal as any other 
provision in that instrument. In its national objects all the States 
were equally interested, and so far as there was any danger that the 
powers of local legislation conferred on Congress might interfere 
with or injuriously affect the institutions of the various States, each 
State possessed an interest proportioned to the probable danger to 
itself. As far as your committee know or believe, however, no ap- 
prehension of an interference on the subject of domestic slavery was 
entertained in any quarter, or expressed by any statesman of the 
day. An examination of the commentaries on the Constitution will 
show that various apprehensions were entertained, as to the powers 
conferred on Congress by this clause, such as that privileged classes 
of society might be created within the District ; that a standing 
army, dangerous to the liberties of the country, might be organized 
and sustained within it, and the like ; but not a suggestion can be 
found, that, under the local powers to be conferred, any attempt 
would be made to interfere with the private rights of the citizens 
who miglit be embraced within the District, or to disturb or change, 
directly, or by consequence, the municipal institutions of the States, 
or that the subject of domestic slavery as it existed in the States 
could be in any way involved in the proposed cession. 

At that time all the States held slaves. Many of them have since, 
by their own independent action, without influence or interference 
from the federal government^ or from their sister States, effected in 
their own time and way the work of emancipation ; others of the 
original States remain as they were at the time of the adoption of the 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 11 

Constitution in reference to this description of property, and several 
new members have been admitted into the Union as shiveholding 
States. All the States which have held or now hokl slave property 
have invariably considered the institution as one exclusively subject 
to State authority, and not to be aflfected. directly or indirectly, by 
federal interference. The practice of the government, as well as 
its theory, has established this doctrine, and the action of the States 
in retaining- or abolishing the institution at pleasure has conformed 
entirely to this principle. Now the subject of federal inteference 
has become one of some agitation, and Congress is solicited to adopt 
measures in relation to the District of Columbia which have been 
shown to be most dangerous and destructive to the security and in- 
terests of the two slaveholding States by which it was ceded to the 
federal government. Your committee will not trouble the House to 
prove that any measure of the federal legislature which Avould have 
this tendency in those two States, would, from the very necessity of 
the case, and the unity of the interest wdierever it exists, have the 
same tendency, measurably, in all the other slaveholding members 
of the Union. This position is too plain for argument. If, then, 
all the States were equally interested in the national objects for 
which this territory was ceded as the seat of the federal govern- 
ment: if that cession was designed by the framers of the Constitu- 
tion to inure to the benefit of the whole confederacy, and was made 
in furtherance of that design; and if Congress, contrary to the ob- 
vious intent and spirit of the cession, shall do an act not required by 
the national objects contemplated by it, but directly repugnant to the 
interests and wishes of the citizens of the ceded territory, and cal- 
culated to disturb the peace and endanger the interests of the slave- 
holding members of the Union, such an act must be in violation of 
the public faith — of the faith reposed in Congress by the States that 
made the cession, and which would be deeply injured by such an ex- 
ercise of power under it, and also of the faith reposed in that body 
by all the States, inasmuch as no independent State in the Union can 
be injured in its peace or its rightful interests by the action of the 
federal government, without a corresponding injury to every member 
of the confederated States. 

Your committee have already shown that an interference with 
slavery in the District of Columbia would involve a violation of the 
public faith as regards the rights and interests of the citizens thereof. 
They recur to this topic, however, on account of its importance, and 
for the purpose putting it in another light, and, as they consider, 
upon unanswerable ground. They are aware that under the *Consti- 
tution, Congress possesses " exclusive legislation" over the aforesaid 
District, but the power of legislation was given to be exercised for 
beneficial purposes only, and cannot, therefore, be exercised consist- 
ently with public faith for any object that is at war with the great 
principles upon which the goverment itself is founded. The Consti- 
tution, to be properly understood, must be taken as a whole. Wherever 

•-Article 1, section 8. 



12 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

a particular power is granted, the extent to Avhieh it may be carried 
can only be inferred from other provisions by which it may be regu- 
lated or restrained. The Constitution, while it confers upon Congress 
exclusive legislation luithin this District, does not and could not con- 
fer unlimited or despotic authority over it. It could confer no power 
contrary to the fudamental principles of the Constitution itself, and 
the essential and unalienable rights of American citizens. The right 
to legislate, therefore, (to make the Constitution consistent with 
itself,) is evidently qualified by the provision that "no man shall be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,"* 
and various others of a similar character. We lay it down as a rule 
that no government can do anything directly repugnant to the prin- 
ciples of natural justice and of the social compact. It would be to- 
tally subversive of all the purposes for which government is insti- 
tuted. Vattel says: "The great end of civil society is whatever 
constitutes happiness with the peaceful possession of property." 
No republican would tolerate that a man should be punished by a 
special statute for an act not legally punishable at the time of its 
commission. No republican could approve any system of legislation 
by which private contracts, lawfully made, should be declared null 
and void, or by which the property of an individual, lawfully ac- 
quired, should be arbitrarily wrested from him by the high hand of 
power. But these great principles are not left for their support to 
the natural feelings of the human heart, or to the mere general spirit 
of republican government. They are expressly incorporated in the 
Constitution, and they have also been recognized and insisted on by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, which lays down the following- 
sound and incontrovertible doctrine : "There are acts which the 
federal or State legislatures cannot do without exceeding their au- 
thority. There are certain vital principles in our free republican 
government which will determine and overrule an apparent and 
flagrant abuse of legislative power ; as to authorize manifest in- 
justice by positive law, or to take away that security for per- 
sonal liberty or private property for the protection whereof the 
government was established. An act of the legislature contrary 
to the great first princijjles of the social compact cannot he considered a 
rightfid exercise of legislative aidhority. The obligation of a law in 
governments established on express compact, and on republican prin- 
ciples, must be determined by the nature of the power on which it is 
founded. A few instances will suffice to explain: A law that pun- 
ished a citizen for an innocent action, or that was in violation of an 
existing law ; a law that destroys or impairs the obligation of the 
lawful private contracts of citizens ; a law that makes a man a judge 
in his own case ; or a law that takes property from A, and gives it to 
B. It is against all reason and justice for a people to intrust a leg- 
islature with such powers, and therefore it cannot be presumed that 
they have done it. The legislature may enjoin or permit, forbid or 
punish ; they may declare new crimes, and establish rules of conduct 

'^Amendments to the Constitution, article 5. 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 13 

for future cases; but they cannot change innocence into guilt, or punish 
innocence as a crime, or violate the rights of an antecedent lawful 
private contract, or the right of private property. To maintain that 
our federal or State legislatures possess such powers, even if they had 
not been expressly restrained, loould be a political heresy, altogether 
inadmissible in our free republican governments ^"^ Now, every prin- 
ciple here afiirmed by the court applies to and protects the people 
of this District, as well as the people of the States. The inhabitants 
of this District are a part of the people of the United States. Every 
right and interest secured by the Constitution to the people of the 
States is equally secured to the people of the District. Congress 
can therefore do no act affecting property or person, in relation to 
this District, which it is prohibited to do in relation to the citizens 
of the States, -without a direct violation of the public faith. For 
instance, it is a Avell-settled constitutional principle, that "private 
property shall not be taken for public use, without just compensa- 
tion." Now, the true meaning of this provision obviously is, that 
private property shall be taken only for public use, but shall not be 
taken, even then, without adequate remuneration. It is evident, 
however, in reference to slavery, either that the government would 
use the slaves, or that it would not. If it would use them, then they 
would not be emancipated; and it would be an idle mockery to talk 
of the freedom of those who Avould only cease to be private to be- 
come public slaves. If it would not use them, then how could 
it be said that they w^ere taken for the public use, consistently 
with the provision just recited ? But even if they could be taken 
without reference to public use, they could not be taken without 
just compensation. It is exceedingly questionable, however, whether 
Congress could legally apply the public revenue to such an object, 
even with the consent of the owners of the slaves. As to emancipa- 
tion without their consent, and without just compensation, your com- 
mittee will not stop to consider it. It could not bear examination. 
Honor, humanity, policy, all forbid it. It is manifest, then, from all 
the considerations herein stated, (and there are others equally forcible 
that might be urged,) that Congress could not abolish slavery in the 
District of Columbia, without a violation of the public faith. 

Your committee will only add one or two reflections upon this 
interesting point. 

What is the meaning of the declaration adopted by the House in 
relation to the District of Columbia? Is it not that Congress cannot 
and will not do an act which it has solemnly proclaimed to involve a 
violation of the public faith? Does it not aftbrd every security to the 
south Avhich it is in the power of the federal government to aftbrd ? 
Is it not tantamount, in its binding obligation upon the government, to a 
positive declaration, that the abolition of slavery in the District of 
Columbia would be unconstitutional ? Nay, is it not even more e^^ca- 
cioris in point of fact ? Constitutional provisions are matters of con- 
struction. The opinion of one house upon an abstract controverted 

* Dallas's Report, volume 3, page 388. 



14 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

point may be overrule(i and reversed by another. But when Con- 
gress has solemnly declared that a jjarticidar act looidd he a violation of 
the public faith ^ is it to be supposed that it would ever violate a 
pled,i!;e thus given to the country? Can an abolitionist expect it? 
Need any citizen of a slave State fear it? What is i)ublic faith but 
the honor of the government? Why are treaties regarded as sacred 
and inviolable? Why but because they involve the pledge, and de- 
pend upon the sanctity, of the national faith ? Why are all compacts 
or promises made by government held to be irrevocably binding? 
Why but because they cannot break them without committing ])erfidy, 
and destroying all confidence in their justice and integrity? Surely, 
then, 3'our committee may say Avith the utmost confidence, (and the 
sentiment will be ratified by every American heart,) that the decla- 
ration now promulged in relation to this subject, will not be departed 
from b}' any succeeding legislature, except under circumstances 
(should any such ever arise in the progress of our country) in which 
a departure from it would not be regarded by the slaveholding States 
themselves, as a wanton or arbitrary infraction of the public faith ! 

Your committee are further instructed to report that, in the opinion 
of this House, Congress ought not to interfere in any way with slavery 
in the District of Columbia — 

2dly. Because it would be unwise and impolitic. 
It will be palpable to the minds of all that if the committee have 
succeeded in establishing, as they think they have, that any such in- 
terference on the part of Congress would be a violation of the public 
faith, it would be a work of supererogation to attempt to show that 
such an act would be unwise and impolitic. As there may be some, 
however, who may not agree with them in their arguments or conclu- 
sions upon that point, they feel bound, under the instruction of the 
House, to offer a few suggestions under this head. 

The federal government was the creation of the States of the con- 
federacy, and the great objects of its creation and organization "were 
to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quillity, and provide for the common defence and general welfare.'' 

Apply these principles, then, to an interference by Congress with 
slavery in the District of Columbia. Such action, to be politic, must 
be in accordance with some one of those great objects; and it will be 
the duty of the committee, in as concise a manner as possible, to show 
that it would not be in accordance with either of them. 
First, then, as to the District itself. 

It has already been shown that any interference, unsolicited by the 
inhabitants of the District, cannot "establish justice,'" or promote 
the cause of justice within it, but directly the reverse. No greater 
degree of slavery exists here now than did exist when the Constitu- 
tion was adopted, and then the inhabitants of the District were citi- 
zens of the States of Maryland and Virginia, and had a voice in the 
adoption of that instrument. Surely their subsequent transfer to the 
jurisdiction of Congress, made in conformity with that Constitution, 
could not deprive them of the protection to which they were entitled 
by these great leading principles of it. On the contrary, they had 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 15 

ever}' right to expect that Congress would "establish justice," as to 
them, in strict compliance with the great charter under which it 
acted, and by which it is forbidden to interfere with their rights of 
private property without their consent, or in any way to affect inju- 
riously their domestic institutions. Of those institutions slavery 
was and is the most important, and any attempt on the part of Con- 
gress, acting as the local legislature of the District, to abolish it, 
would not only be impolitic, but an act of gross injustice and oppres- 
sion. 

Secondly, as to the States of the Union. Here, again, your com- 
mittee have but to refer to their former remarks to show that the 
abolition of slavery in the District would not "establish justice," but 
work great injustice to the surrounding States in particular, and to 
all the slave States in general, and in a degree proportioned to their 
proximity to the District and to the influence upon the institution of 
slavery in the Union, of such action on the part of Congress. They 
liave also shown that the abolition of slavery here, so far from tending 
,to "insure domestic tranquillity," would have a direct tendency to 
produce domestic discord and violence and servile war in all the 
slavehoiding States. As these consequences, then, would follow such 
action in reference to the States, your committee need not say, that, 
instead of providing for "the common defence hy it," Congress would 
be called upon "to provide for the common defence" m consequence of 
it, and to an extent which cannot now be foreseen. Seeing, then, that 
the American confederacy was formed for the great objects of provid 
ing for "the common defence and general welfare," it follows, neces- 
ssarily, that Congress is not only restrained from the commission of any 
act by which these objects may be frustrated, but that it is bound to 
sustain and promote them. The same provision of the Constitution 
which requires it to call out the miliiia to "suppress insurrections," 
unquestionably imposes the corresponding obligation upon it to com- 
mit no act by which an insurrectionary spirit may be excited. The 
■ same provision which enjoins it on the federal government, to 
" guarantee to each State a republican form of government, and to aid 
.and protect each State against domestic violence," evidently implies 
,the correlative obligation to take no step of which the direct and 
inevitable tendency would be to overthrow the State governments, 
and to involve them in wide-spread scenes of misery and desolation. 
Jn one word, if it be the duty of Congress, as it most clearly is, to 
support and preserve the Constitution and the Union, then it is mani- 
fest that it is bound to avoid the adoption of any legislation which may 
lead to their destruction. Your committee consider these positions 
too obvious to require argument or illustration. They consider it 
equally manifest, that any attempt to abolish slavery in the District, 
would necessarily tend to the deplorable consequences to which they 
have adverted. Congress, therefore, is bound, by every principle of 
duty Avhich forbids it to interfere with slavery in any of the States, 
.to abstain from any similar interference in the District of Columbia. 
We have said that the scheme of general emancipation is imprac- 



16 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

ticablc. The slightest reflection must satisfy every candid mind of 
the truth of this assertion. 

Admitting that the federal government had a right to act upon this 
matter, which it clearly has not, it certainly never could achieve such 
an operation without full compensation to the owners. And what 
would probably be the amount required ? The aggregate value of all 
that species of property is not less, probably, than four hundred mil- 
lions of dollars ! And hoAV could such an amount be raised ? Will 
the people of this country ever consent to the imposition of oppres- 
sive taxes, that the proceeds maybe applied to the purchase of slaves ? 
The idea is preposterous ; and not only that, but it is susceptible of 
demonstration, that even if an annual appropriation of ten millions 
were actually applied to the purchase and transportation of slaves, 
the whole number would not be sensibly diminished at the expiration 
of half a century, from the natural growth and multiplication of the 
race. Burden the treasury as we might, it w^ould still be an endless 
expense and an interminable work. And this view of the subject 
surely is sufficient of itself to prove that of all the schemes ever 
projected by fanaticism, the idea of universal emancipation is the 
most visionary and impracticable. 

But even if the scheme were practicable, wdiat would be gained by 
effecting it? Suppose that Congress could emancipate all the slaves in 
the Union, is such a result desirable ? This question is addressed to the 
sober sense of the people of America. Would it be politic or advan- 
tageous? Would it contribute to the wealth, or grandeur, or happiness 
of our country ? On the contrary, would it not produce consequences 
directly the reverse ? Are not the slaves unfit for freedom ; notori- 
ously ignorant, servile, and depraved ? and would any rational man 
have them instantaneously transformed into freemen, with all the 
rights and privileges of American citizens? Are they capable of 
understanding correctly the nature of our government, or exercising 
judiciously a single political right or privilege? Nay! Avould they 
even be capable of earning their own livelihood, or rearing their 
families independently by their own ingenuity and industry ? What, 
then, Avould follow from their liberation but the most deplorable state 
of society Avith which any civilized country was ever cursed ? How 
would vice and immorality and licentiousness overrun the land? 
How many jails and penitentiaries that now seldom hold a prisoner 
would be crowded to suffocation ? How many fertile fields that now 
yield regular and abundant harvests would lie unoccupied and 
desolate? How w^ould the foreign commerce of the south decline and 
disappear? How many thousands of seamen, of whom southern 
agriculture is the very life, would be driven for support to foreign 
countries ? And how large a portion of the federal revenue derived 
from foreign commodities exchanged for southern products would be 
lost forever to this government? And, in addition to all this, what 
would be the ct)ndition of southern society were all tlie slaves eman- 
cipated ? Would the whites consent that the blacks should be placed 
upon a full footing of equality with them? Unquestionably not. 
Either the one class or the other would be forced to emigrate, and^ 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 17 

in either case, the whole region of the south would be a scene of 
poverty and ruin ; or, what is still more probable, the blacks would 
everywhere be driven before the whites, as the Indians have been, 
until they were exterminated from the earth. And surely it is un- 
necessary to remark that decay and desolation could not break down 
the south without producing a corresponding depression upon the 
wealth and enterprise of the northern States. And here let us ask, 
too, what would be the condition of the non-slaveholding States 
themselves, as regards the blacks ? Are they prepared to receive 
myriads of negroes, and place them upon an equality with the free 
white laborers and mechanics, who constitute their pride and strength? 
Will the new States consent that their territory shall be occupied by 
negroes instead of the enterprising, intelligent, and patriotic white 
population which is daily seeking their borders from other portions 
of the Union ? Shall the yeomanry of those States be surrounded 
by thousands of such beings, and the white laborer forced into com- 
petition and association with them ? Are they to enjoy the same civil 
and political privileges as the free white citizens of the north and 
west, and to be admitted into the social circle as their friends and 
companions? Nothing less than all this will constitute perfect free- 
dom, and the principles now maintained by those who advocate 
emancipation would, if carried out, necessarily produce this state of 
things! Yet, who believes that it would be tolerated for a moment? 
Already have laws been passed in several of the non-slaveholding 
States to exclude free blacks from a settlement within their limits, 
and a prospect of general and immediate abolition would compel them, 
in self-defence, to resort to a system of measures much more rigorous 
and effective than any which have yet been adopted. Driven from 
the south, then, the blacks would find no place of refuge in the north ; 
and, as before remarked, utter extermination would be the probable, 
if not the inevitable, fate of the whole race. Where is the citizen, 
then, that can desire such results ? Where the American who can 
contemplate them without emotion? Where the abolitionist that will 
■not pause, in view of the direful consequences of his scheme, both 
to the whites and the blacks, to the north and the south, and to the- 
whole Union at large? 

Your committee deem it their duty to say that, in their opinion^ 
the people of the south have been very unjustly censured in reference- 
to slavery. It is not their purpose, however, to defend them. Their 
character, as men and citizens, needs no vindication from us. Wher- 
ever it is known it speaks for itself, nor would any wantonly traduce 
it, but those assassins of reputation, who are also willing to be the 
destroyers of life. Exaggerated pictures have been drawn of the 
hardships of the slave, and every eftbrt made to malign the south, 
and to enlist against it both the religious and political feeling of the 
north. Your committee cannot too strongly express their unanimous 
and unqualified disapprobation of all such movements. The Consti- 
tution under which we live was framed by our common ancestors 
to preserve the liberty and independence achieved by their united 
efforts in the council and the field. In all our contests with foreign 
H. Rep. Com. 58 2 



18 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

enemies, the south has exhibited an unwavering attachment to the 
common cause. Where is the spot of which Americans are prouder 
than the phiins of Yorktown? Or, when was Britain more humbled, 
or America more honored, than by the victory of New Orleans? All 
our history, from the revolution down, attest the high and uniform 
and devoted patriotism of the south. Her domestic institutions are 
her own. They Avere brought into the Union with her, and secured 
by the compact which makes us one people; and he who would sow 
dissensions among members of the same great political family, by 
assailing the institutions, and impugning the character of the citizens 
of the south, should be regarded as an enemy to the peace and pros- 
perity of our common country. 

If there is a feature by which the present age may be said to be 
characterized, it is that sickly sentimentality which, disregarding the 
pressing claims and wants of its own immediate neighborhood, or 
to\vn, or State, wastes and dissipates itself in visionary, and often 
veiy mischievous, enterprises, for the imaginary benefit of remote 
communities. True philanthropy, rightly understood and properly 
applied, is one of the purest and most ennobling principles of our 
nature; but, misdirected or perverted, it degenerates into that fell 
spirit of fanaticism which disregards all ties, and tramples on all 
obstacles, however sacred or venerable, in the relentless prosecution 
of its horrid purposes. Experience proves, however, that, when in- 
dividuals in one place, mistaking the true character of benevolence, 
rashly undertake, at the imminent hazard of conflict and convulsion, to 
remedy what they are pleased to consider evils and distresses in 
another, it is naturally regarded by those who are thus injured, either 
as a species of madness which may be repelled or resisted, as any 
other madness may, or as manifesting a feeling of hostility on the one 
side, which must necessarily produce corresponding alienation on 
the other. It is all important, therefore, that the spirit of abolition, 
or, in other words, of illegal and officious interference with the 
domestic institutions of the south, should be arrested and put down: 
and men of intelligence and influence at the north should endeavor 
to produce that sound and rational state of public opinion Avhich is 
equally due to the south and to the preservation of the Union. 

And this brings your committee to the last position they have been 
instructed to sustain, and that is, that, in the opinion of this House, 
Congress ought not to interfere in any way with slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 

3dly. Because it would be dangerous to the Union. 
The first great object enumerated in the Constitution, as an induce- 
ment to its adoption, was to "form a more perfect union." At that 
time all the States held slaves to a greater or less extent, and slavery 
in the States was fully recognized and provided for, in many particu- 
lars, in that instrument itself. It was recogzized, however, and all 
the provisions upon the subject so regarded it, as a State and not a 
national institution. At that time, too, as has been before remarked, 
the District of Columbia constituted an integral part of two of the in- 
dependent States which became parties to the confederacy and to the 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 19 

Constitution itself. Since that time an entire emancipation of slaves 
has taken place in several of the old States; but in all cases this has 
been the work of the States themselves, without any interfence what- 
ever by the federal government. New States have also been admitted 
into the Union, with an interdiction in their constitutions against in- 
voluntary servitude. In this way the slave States have become a 
minority in representation in the federal legislature. Their interests, 
however, as States, in the institution of domestic slavery, as it exists 
within their limits, have not diminished, nor has their right to perfect 
security under the Constitution, in reference to this description of 
property, been in any way or to any degree surrendered or impaired 
since the adoption of that instrument by themselves and their sister 
States. 

The operation of causes, to a great extent natural, and proceeding 
from climate, soil, and consequent production, has rendered slavery 
a local and sectional institution, and has thus added another to the 
most alarming apprehensions of patriots for the perpetuity of this 
Union — the apprehension of local and geographical interests and dis- 
tinctions. How immensely important is it, then, that Congress should 
do no act, and assume no jurisdiction, in reference to this great 
interest, by which it shall ever appear to place itself in the attitude 
of a local, instead of a national tribunal — a partial agent, providing 
for peculiar and sectional objects and feelings, instead of a general 
and paternal legislature, equally and impartially promoting the gen- 
eral welfare of all the States. No one can fail to see that any other 
course on the part of Congress must weaken the confidence of the 
injured. States in the federal authority, and, to the same extent, prove 
"dangerous to the Union." 

Since the adoption of the federal Constitution the District of Co- 
lumbia has been ceded to the United States as a seat of the federal 
government; but not only many eminent statesmen of the country, 
but all of the slaveholding States, speaking through their legislative 
assemblies, firmly believe and insist that the cession so made has con- 
ferred upon Congress no constitutional power to abolish slavery 
within the ceded territory. Your committee have abstained from an 
examination of this question, because they were not instructed to 
discuss it. But they have no hesitation to say that, in the view they 
have taken of the whole question, the obligations of Congress not to 
act on this subject are as fully binding and insuperable as a positive 
constitutional interdict, or an open acknowledgmentof want of power. 

Considering the subject in this light, your committee have already 
proved that any interference by Congress with the subject of slavery 
would be evidently calculated to injure the interests and disturb the 
peace of the slaveholding States; and if they have succeeded in estab- 
lishing this position, no argument is necessary to show that such con- 
sequences, springing from the action of Congress as the local legisla- 
ture of the District, would eminently endanger the existence of this 
Union. It has also been shown that Congress, as the legislature of 
the Union, can have no constitutional power over this subject, and 
that its powers as a local legislature of the District .were granted for 



■20 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

the mere purpose of rendering its general powers perfect and free 
from conflict and collision with State authorities. It has also been 
shown that these local powers should be so exercised as to confer the 
greatest benefits upon the citizens residing within the District, with 
the least possible injury to the peculiar interests of any State, or the 
general interests of all the States. Your committee have also shown, 
as they think successfully, that the abolition of slavery in the District 
of Columbia would be a deep injury to the citizens of the District, 
and therefore a violation of the trust reposed in Congress as the local 
legislature of the District, and also that it would inflict an incurable 
injury upon all the slaveholding States, and would therefore be an 
equal violation of the trust reposed in that body as the legislature of 
the Union. If, then, they have established these positions, as they 
think they have, can any one doubt that the action contemplated 
would be "dangerous to the Union," being directly calculated, as it 
■would be, to weaken the confidence of the District in Congress as a 
safe and faithful local legislature, and the confidence of the slave- 
holding States as an impartial guardian of their interests ? 

Important as the Union is to each State, and to the whole American 
people, everyone will admit that, as far as possible, strict impartiality 
and kind feelings to all the interests and all the sections of the country 
should characterize the action of the federal government. The 
Union was formed for the common and equal benefit of all the States, 
and for the perfect and equal protection of the rights and interests of 
all the citizens of all the States. Its only strength is in the confidence 
of the States, and of the people, that these great benefits will continue 
to be secured to them, and that these great purposes will be accom- 
plished by its preservation. Any action, therefore, on the part of 
Congress which shall weaken or destroy that confidence in any por- 
tion of our citizens, or in any State of the Union, must inevitably, to 
that extent, endanger the Union itself! Who can doubt this reason- 
ing ? Who does not know that the agitation of any question connected 
with domestic slavery, as it exists in this country, among any portion of 
our citizens, creates apprehension and excitement in the slaveholding 
States? Who does not know that the agitation of any such question in 
either branch of Congress shakes their confidence in the security of 
their most important interests, and, consequently, in the continuance 
to them of those great benefits, to secure which they became parties 
to the Union ? Who, then, does not believe that any action by Congress, 
having for its object the abolition of slavery in any portion of the 
Union, however narrow or limited it may be, Avbuld necessarily 
impair the confidence of the slaveholding States in their security 
in relation to this description of property, put an end to all their 
hope of benefits to be derived to them from the further continuance of 
the Union, and alienate their aflections from it? Were Congress, in a 
single instance, to sufter itself to be impelled by mere feeling in one por- 
tion of the Union, to attempt a gratification of that feeling at the sacri- 
fice of the dearest interest and most sacred rights of another portion, 
who can doubt that the Union would be seriously endangered, if not 
dstroyed? But this conclusion does not depend upon reasoning alone. 



SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 21 

The evidences of public sentiment on this point are equally abundant 
and decisive. Your committee having already extended their report 
beyond the limits to which they could have wished to confine it, will 
enter into no details upon this portion of their duty. Suffice it to 
say that the legislatures of several, if not of all, the slaveholding 
States, have solemnly resolved that " Congress has no constitutional 
authority to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia." It would 
be utterly impossible, therefore, that any such attempt should be 
made by Congress without producing an excitement and involving con- 
sequences which no patriot can contemplate without the most painful 
emotions. It would be regarded by the slaveholding States as an en- 
tering wedge to a scheme of general emancipation, and, therefore, 
tend to produce the same results, in relation to the federal govern- 
ment and the Union, that would be produced by the adoption of any 
measure directly affecting the domestic institutions of the States 
themselves. Your committee will not dwell upon the picture that is 
thus presented to their minds. The reflection it excites is one of 
unmingled bitterness and horror. It is one, they trust, which is 
never to be realized. Looking upon their beloved country, as it now 
stands, the envy and admiration of the world; contemplating, as they 
do, that unrivalled Constitution, by which a beauteous family of con- 
federated States, each independent in its own separate sphere, re- 
volve around a federal head with all the harmony and regularity of 
the planetary system; and knowing, as they do, that under the benefi- 
cent influence of our free institutions, the people of this country en- 
joy a degree of liberty, prosperity, and happiness, not only unpos- 
sessed, but scarcely imagined, by any other upon earth; they cannot 
and will not advert to the horrors, or depict the consequences of that 
most awful day, when the sun of American freedom shall go down in 
blood, and nothing remain of this glorious republic but the bleeding, 
scattered, and dishonored fragments. It would indeed be the extinc- 
tion of the world's last hope, and the jubilee of tyranny over all the 
earth ! 

But your committee feel that, with these painful impressions on 
their minds, they would but imperfectly discharge their duty if they 
did not make an earnest appeal to the patriotism of the American 
people to sustain the resolution adopted by the House. And they 
would also appeal to the good sense and good feelings of that portion 
of the abolitionists who, acting under a mistaken sense of moral and 
religious duty, have embarked in this crusade against the south, sol- 
emnly invoking them, in the name of our common country, to abstain 
from a system of agitation which has not only failed, and will always 
fail, to attain its objects, but has even brought the Union itself into 
a state of imminent and fearful peril. It is confidently believed that 
this appeal will not be made in vain, and that hereafter all who truly 
love their country will manifest their patriotism by avoiding this un- 
happy cause of discord and disunion, and that they will make no fur- 
ther exertions upon a subject from the continued agitation of which 
nothing but augmented evils can result. 



22 SLAVERY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

In conclusion, the undersigned recommend the adoption of the fol- 
lowing resolutions as a substitute for the bill reported by the majority 
of the Committee for the District of Columbia : 

JResolved, That the Constitution confers no power on Congress to 
establish or abolish slavery in the States, Territories, or the District 
of Columbia. 

Besolved, That the deeds of cession of Virginia and Maryland 
neither contemplated nor intended to confer such a power on Con- 
gress. 

Resolved, That to alter, change, or abolish the rights of property 
in the District of Columbia, without the consent of the owners, would 
be unjust, and in violation of the spirit if not the letter of the Con- 
stitution. 

Besolved. That, even with such consent, to interfere with the sub- 
ject of slavery, not only without but against the consent of the people 
of Maryland, would be in flagrant violation of the public faith, an 
abuse of the trust conferred on Congress by the cession, and hazard- 
ous to the peace and security of that State, and particularly unfortu- 
nate at this time, as calculated to discourage many loyal citizens and 
strengthen the power of the rebellion. 

CHAS. B. CALVERT. 
JOHN B. STEELE. 



3Si;i Co.\(jiii;s.s } HOUSE OF ilEPUESENTATlVES. | Report 

ist Session. i i No. 41. 



PENITENTIARY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

[To accompany bill H. R. No. 169.] 



April 2, 1864.— Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. J. R. Morris, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, made the 

following 

REPOET. 

Mr. Morris, of Ohio, from the Committee for the District of Columhia, to whom 
was referred House hill No. 169, " authorizing the construction of a peni- 
tentiary, jail, and house of correction in and for the District of Columbia,^^ 
submitted the following report : 

The committee have had this bill under careful consideration, and have come 
to the conclusion that the buildings therein provided for are imperatively de- 
manded by the necessities of the government and the District. Without enter- 
ing into a lengthy discussion of the subject, it is simply proposed to refer to 
extracts from the reports and letters of those who are much more familiar Avith 
the question than the committee could hope to become. 

The Secretary of the Interior, in his annual report of the 5th of December 
last, says : 

" The want of a penitentiary has been particularly felt in the administration 
of justice in this District during the past year. The whole number of convicts 
now under sentence from this District is 179; of this ni;mber 143 have been 
convicted and sent to the penitentiary at Albany, New York, since the appro- 
priation of the penitentiary of the United States for the District of Columbia 
by the War Department. The average cost of transporting convicts from this 
District to the penitentiary at Albany is about fifty dollars, and that of main- 
taining them there one dollar and twenty-five cents per week, or sixty-five dol- 
lars per annum. It is confidently believed that with a penitentiary possessing 
the appliances necessary for the judicious application of the labor of the con- 
victs, they could be much more economically maintained in this District, and the 
moral advantages secured to the community of having institutions of this char- 
acter located in their midst. 

" The government now OAvns a tract of land, containing two hundred and 
eighty-one acres, upon which the receiving reservoir of the Washington aque- 
duct is situated, which embraces several suitable sites for a penitentiary, and a 
house for the detention and reform of jitvenile offenders. These lands are now 
lying vacant. There are excellent quarries immediately contiguous thereto, from 
which substantial buildings could be erected. They could be located in close 
proximity to the canal, whence fuel could be obtained at the cheapest rates. 



2 PENITENTIARY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Sewerage could be easily constructetl, and all the necessaiy water power for 
propelling: the requisite macliinery for the successful and profitable employment 
of the labor of the convicts could be ])rocured from the surplus Avater of the 
reservoir at a veiy small cost. I think it would be good economy to provide 
for the erection of penitentiary buildings upon these lands, and that it would be 
well for Congress at its approaching session to make the necessary provision 
for the commencement of the Avork. In a very short time many of the convicts 
could be provided with secure and comfortable quarters upon the premises, and 
employed in quarrying stone, and other labor pertaining to the construction of 
such works." 

In addition to this testimony of the Secretary of the Interior, the committee 
beg leave to refer to the following letter from the judges of the supreme court 
for the District of Columbia : 

" To the honorable the committee of the House of Representatives of the United 
States for the District of Columbia : 

"Thi' undersigned beg leave respectfully to state, that since the 16th day of 
January, 1863, some one hundred and seventy-two prisoners have been sent to 
the Albany county penitentiary by order of th(! court of this District, under the 
arrangement made between the Secretary of the Interior and the warden of the 
Albany county penitentiary, at an aggregate expense to the government of 
about $8,000. That the said expense of keeping said criminals from said 16tli 
day of January, 1863, to the 16tli day of the present month, March 16, 1864, 
will be about $8,000, making an aggregate of $16,000, or about $1,153 per 
month. 

"It is confidently believed that a well managed penitentiary in the District 
would be a self-sustaining institution, and would for several years to come be a 
saving to the government of at least $12,000 per annum. 

'•The undersigned therefore res])ectfully, but earnestly, suggest that the 
committee recommend to Congress the passage of a bill providing for the estab- 
lishment of a penitentiary in the District of Columbia at the earliest practicable 
period. 

" Verv respectfully, 

"D. K. CARTTER, 
"GEORCIE P. FISHER, 
"ANDRKW WYLIE, 
"A. B. OLIN. 

" P. S. — The government is also obliged to pay to each prisoner the sum of ten 
dollars, on his discharge, which, added to the foregoing sum of $16,000, would 
.swell the aggregate cost on 172 prisoners to the sum of $17,720." 

At the date of the committee's last information upon this subject, there had 
been sent to Albany one hundred and seventy-three convicts. The cost of their 
transportation, at $50 each, is $8,650 ; amount paid each prisoner on his dis- 
charge, $10, is $1,730 ; cost of boarding at Albany, $65 per year for each 
prisoner, $11,245. Thus we have an aggregate expenditure of $21,625 annu- 
ally for transporting and maintaining one hundred and seventy-three prisoners 
at Albany — a sum equal to the interest, at 6 per cent., on $350,000. 

In the opinion of the committee, a penitentiary in this District, properly and 
judiciously managed, ought to be very nearly self-sustaining, as are many State 
penitentiaries throughout tlu^ United States. 

It certainly is not veiy creditable to the country that, at the capital of this 
great nation, there is no building in Avhich to confine those who offend against 
the laws of the land ; no house of correction for the reclamation of juvenile 
offenders, and a jail little better than " the black-hole of Calcutta." The au- 
thorities are compelled to " go into the market," as it were, with their convicts 



PENITENTIARY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 6 

and make the best bargain they can with those who have no interest in the 
moral welfare and reformation of the prisoners, as they wonld have among whom 
they would be again thrown at the expiration of their terms of service. On 
the contrary, the object, under the present system, can only be to get the 
most labor possible out of the prisoners, and to keep them at the least possible 
exj)ense. Upon this subject the Board of Metropolitan Police, in their last an- 
nual report to the Secretary of the Interior, well say : 

"There can be no question that a very great moral advantage is derived to a 
community from having its institutions of punishment within its oiim borders, 
and the board can safely say that there not only is not another community in 
this country Avhose penitentiary is in a foreign and distant jurisdiction, but that 
there is no community which would not consider it a very great hardship if any 
circumstances should compel the removal of convicts outside its borders for pun- 
ishment, and which would not at once take steps to remedy the disadvantage. 
Albany is over three hundred miles from the District of Columbia, and for all 
good that might arise to this District from the presence of such an institution, 
the penitentiary might as well be in some European country. The board, with 
all deference, think there is no need for a continuance of such a state of affairs." 
Upon the subject of the county jail the committee have very little to say. 
It has been so often complained of by grand juries, by Secretaries of the Interior 
and by committees of Congress, that it Avonld be useless to add anything 
further. 

Perhaps in no city of equal size in the United States are there so many 
juvenile offenders as in the city of Washington — at least, such are the repre- 
sentations made to the committee. For this class there is no house of correc- 
tion — no place to which they may be sent where their future moral and 
Sdcial welfare will be properly cared for. On the contrary, from the severity and 
imperfections of the criminal code of the District, these children, if convicted of 
crime, must be either sent to Albany or to the county jail, to mingle with old 
offenders, or again turned loose upon society. This ought not to be. In the 
report before referred to the board of Metropolitan Police say : 

" There has been great necessity in this District for a house for the correction 
(f juvenile delin(juents for many years past, but of late years that need has in- 
creased enormously. The army has following it an immense number of boys, 
altrarted must of them by the species of fascination that the life of a soldiei- has 
for such young minds. These boys, from one cause and another, find their way 
after a very brief experience of the hardships of camp life, or perhaps by reason 
of some severe order from headquarters, into our city, and are soon denizens of 
our streets. In a very little while they become petty criminals, requiring the 
attention of the police, and the question becomes a very important one, what is 
to be done with them 1 There are no houses of correction for such delinquents 
in this community, and to imprison them in our jails only graduates them in 
crime, and in a little while makes complete scoundrels of boys who, underproper 
treatment, might have been reformed." 

That there is an absolute necessity for these buildings the committee believe 
no one can question. But the objection urged is, that at this time, when the 
expenses of the government are so very large, it is unwise and doubtful economy 
to expend money for such a pui-pose"; In answer, the committee have only to 
say that they believe an expenditure of $2-50,000 Avill erect all the buildings 
necessary for the present wants of the District, and for years to come. Who 
will weigh that expenditure against the ])resent, and, perhaps, eternal M'ell-being 
of scores of boys now in the District without a home? It is less than one- 
twelfth of one day's expenditure of the government — less than one four thou- 
sandth part of one year's expenditure. While the committee believe that these 
buildings ought to be constructed on a plan commensurate with the style and 
proportions of the other public buildings, worthy the capital of a great nation, 



4 PENITENTIARY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

yet tlioy have thought it inexpedient to recommend a greater appropriation than 
the sum named, believing such phms will be adopted and such buildings 
erected that, at any time when needed, additions may be made thereto. The 
committee are furtiier advised that this appropriation will be considerably les- 
.^ened by the use of materials in the old penitentiary, as provided in the bill. 
On this subject the officer in chiirge of Washington arsenal, in a letter to the 
late warden of the penitentiary, says: 

" SfR : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, and 
to say that the present penitentiary building is now used for the storage of a 
large amount of ammunition. The removal, as proposed, of the ccdls would not 
only increase the storage room, but would render the hauling of the ammunition 
safer and more convenient. All the heavy interior doors might also be dis- 
pensed with. 

"The outer gates, with their cut stone masonry, the coping and iron railing 
could be spared, and much of the outer wall, only leaving enough in height to 
prevent improper persons too near the magazine. 
" Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"J. G. BENTON, 
" Captain of Ordnavce, Comonav dingy 

The committee are informed that thei'e are in the old penitentiary J60 cells 
faced with cut stone eighteen inches square; 224 cell doors; a number of large 
iron doors, iron guards, &c. ; about 1,260 feet of yard wall, containing some 
750,000 brick, with cut cap stone on the walls, and foundation stones, together 
with a large amount of brick in the old cells, all of M'hich might and will be 
used in the construction of the new buildings. 

The committee have left the question of a site for the proposed buildings to the 
decision of the Secretary of the Interior, the judges of the Supreme Court for 
the District of Columbia, and the mayors of Washington and Georgetown. It 
is provided in the bill, however, that it shall be within the District, and the build- 
ings all on contiguous territory. The objection to the site proposed by the Sec- 
retary for a penitentiary is, that it is too remote from the city, and especially so 
should it be thought more economical to have all the said buildings in the same 
enclosure. The jail must be within a reasonable distance of the City Hall, in 
which the courts are held. In many of the State penitentiaries a considerable 
sum, ranging from two to five thousand dollars per annum, is received from vis- 
itors. With a penitentiary located on the grounds proposed by the Secretary, 
there would be no revenue from this source. Possibly it were better so. 

The committee have provided, in the bill reported by them, that the cities of 
Washington and Georgetown, and the county of Washington, shall pay into 
the treasur}' of the United States the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, 
believing it to be a sum justly to be assumed by said cities and county as their 
proper })roportiou of said appropriation. The bill assesses to the city of Wash- 
ington twelve-fifteenths of said sum, to the city of Georgetown two-fifteenths, 
and to the county of Washington one-fifteenth. This is in the same proportion 
as fixed by a law passed at the present session of Congress regulating the 
assessments of the levy court of the District. It is sometimes claimed that 
the property -holders of the District of Columbia should build their own peni- 
tmitiary, jail, and house of correction ; but it must be remembered that the 
United States own very nearly one-half in value of all the real jjroperty in the 
city of Washington, and which the corporate authorities cannot tax one dollar. 
In addition. Congress, under tlu; Constitution, exercises exclusive legislation in 
all cases whatsoever over the District, and it is for violating laws passed by 
Congress, administered by judges not chosen by the people, that these j)eniteu- 
tiaries, jails, and houses of correction, become necessary. The sum of one hundred 



PENITENTIARY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 5 

thousand dollars being' paid into the treasuiy by said cities and county, will 
leave only the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be paid by the 
United States, which sum, it is believed, will be further reduced fifteen to thirty 
thousand dollars by stone, brick, iron doors, and other material furnished to the 
contractor from the old penitentiary and other public grounds. 

The bill reported by the committee provides, first, that the Secretary of the 
Interior, the judges of thes upreme court for the District, and the mayors of 
Washington and Georgetown, shall select sites for the proposed buildings on 
contiguous territory within the District. 2d, that they shall, before contract- 
ing for the erection of the same, cause full and detailed plans and specifications 
to be prepared for said edifices, or such divisions or portions of the same as may 
be needed for the present wants of the District. 3d, that they shall, after 
giving thirty days' notice, enter into a contract with the lowest responsible 
bidder, who shall give the reqiiisite security. 4th, after this is done the duties 
of the judges and mayors cease, and to the Secretary of the Interior is given 
the general supervision of the work. 5th, the sum of two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars is appropriated for the construction of the buildings. 6th, 
convict labor shall be employed by the contractor, who shall allow one dollar 
and fifty cents a day for each prisoner. 7th, the contractor shall use stone, 
brick, timber, or other material, now in the old penitentiary, or on any of the 
public grounds, whenever it will lessen expenses, and shall make a just allow- 
ance for the same. 8th, the city of Washington to pay into the United States 
treasury $80,000, Georgetown $13,500, and the county of Washington $6,500, 
and may issue scrip, bonds, or other securities for the same, to be redeemed 
within ten years, and may also levy, assess and collect such proportion of said 
sums in each year as the city or county authorities may determine. 10th, in 
defiiult of payment by either or all of said cities and county, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall appoint assessors and collectors to levy, assess and collect the 
several amounts so unpaid. 11th, when the buildings are completed, and the 
sums assessed upon said cities and county are paid into the treasury, the lands 
occupied by the same shall be forever set apart and dedicated to the District of 
Columbia for the purposes designated in the bill. 



SStii Coxgre&s, ) HOUSE OF HEPRESENTATIVES. i Report 
2d Session. ) ( No. 23. 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS FROM THE JAIL' IN THE DISTRICT 
OF COLUMBIA IN THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 

[To iiccoiiiijany bill H. R. 79:;.] 



February 28, 1665.— Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Tho.mas T. Davis, from tlie Committee for the District of Columbia, made 

tlie following 

EEPOIIT. 

The Comimtlec for the District of Columbia, to icMch was referred two certain 
resolutions of the House of Representatives, the one directing an inquiry into 
the sale to substitute brokers of colored men coffned in the jail of the District 
of Columbia charged with felony, and the other a resolution directing an in- 
quiry into a system of substitute brokerage alleged to be in 'practice at said 
jail, in the city of Washington, by the officers and, guards in charge thereof, 
report : 

That, by virtue of the powers conferred, and in obedience to the duties en- 
joined, upon them, thej proceeded to summon before them the officers and per- 
sons named or referred to in the last resolution, as well as many other persons, 
who were supposed to possess knowledge upon the subject of inquiry, and such 
officers and persons have been examined upon oath, and the testimony taken 
has been reduced to Avriting, and is submitted herewith. 

From the testimony thus taken and submitted the undersigned are happy to 
state, as the determination of their judgment, that the number of persons impli- 
cated in corrupt practices, connected with the procurement of substitutes for the 
military and naval service, is not so great as many have supposed, and that but 
a few instances have been found in which criminals, charged with heinous offences, 
have been admitted to bail for the purpose of being used as substitutes. 

It is nevertheless unquestionably true that corrupt practices have existed, 
that wrongs have been committed, that outrages upon public morality and public 
justice have been perpetrated, which call for the interference of Congress, and, 
so far as may be, for the punishment of the guilty by existing law. 

To the end that the report which we have the honor to submit may present 
an intelligible outline of the subject under consideration, without compelling a 
reference to the somewhat voluminous testimony which has been taken, the 
undersigned state briefly the material faets which have been proved before them. 

The district or United States jail in the city of Washington is under the 
immediate charge of Robert Beal, the warden thereof, who has under him as 
deputy or assistant warden next in charge Benedict Milburn, of the city of 
Washington, and eight guards to assist in the custody and care of the prisoners 
confined therein. 

The warden has been in office since the 11th day of April, A. D. 1864, and 
Milburn has since that period been deputy Avardeu, having, however, for nearly 
two years before been connected -^ith the jail as an officer thereof, under the 
administration of Marshal Lamon. 



2 ENLISTING CRIxMINALS. 

This jail is the place of confiucment for all persons arrested within the Dis- 
trict for criminal oifences, by the civil authorities of the District, and committed 
for trial therein. The number of committments annually is large, and it appears 
from the testimony of the Avarden in the case that, since the office has been 
held by him up to the 21st of February, 1865, 756 persons committed for trial 
or examination have been discharged. Of these discharges there have been 

By the district court 77 

By the district attorney 11 

By the failure of the grand jury to find bills of indictment 45 

By the marshal 335 

By justices of the peace 308 

From the whole number thus dischai'ged not far from seventy have been let 
to bail for the purpose of being mustered into the military or naval service of 
the United States as substitutes for parties in or out of the District, drafted 
or liable to be drafted for such service. 

So for as your committee have been able to»learn from the judges and officers 
of the court, and t!ie responsible officers of the prison, the great majority of 
these persons were committed for breaches of the peace or trivial offences, or 
for alleged offences, of the commission of which no proof to sustain an indict- 
ment or prosecution was ever offered to the grand jury of the District, or to the 
committing magistrate. 

The committee have found no proof of the letting to bail of more than five 
or six persons, charged with any crime as high as the grade of grand larceny, 
with intent to use the parties thus charged as substitutes. 

It is in proof before us that two persons, one convicted of grand larceny, 
and one of highway robbery, in taking S2 50 from a colored woman of his 
acquaintance in the streets, have been pardoned, and immediately thei'-aftcr 
mustered into service as substitutes ; but your committee are satisfied iliat in 
these cases the clemency of the executive was properly exercised, and that no 
reasonable objection to it can be urged. 

With the exception, therefore, of the comparatively few cases where parties 
held for trial for grand larceny or other heinous offences have been let to bail 
to be taken as substitutes, your committee are satisfied that no special injury 
has been inflicted upon the public service by the employment of substitutes, 
either colored or white, from the jail of the District. 

But there are considerations arising from the facts, which we shall now pro- 
ceed to submit, showing that the whole system of letting to bail persons charged 
and held for trial uj)on any grade of crime should be arrested by legislation, as 
tending to the manifest wrong and oppression of the alleged criminal, as well as 
to venality and corruption on the part of officers having the charge of the jail. 
During the pendency of the draft for troops in the District of Columbia in the 
last year, (1864,) it was to be sujiposed that parties desiring to obtain substitutes 
would make strenuous efforts to find them in any quarter which should promise 
success. The jail of the District, where the poor and the friendless Avere con- 
fined, often on charges of slight assault and battery, committed in momtrnts of 
inebriation, or lor other breaches of the public peace of no very aggravated char- 
acter, and where others were held for trial of more serious offences, became a fa- 
vorite resort for parties desiring substitutes for themselves, as well as for brokers 
and speculators whose business it was to procure them for others. 

Success in this undertaking would depend very materially upon the disposi- 
tion and influence of the officers and custodians of the jail; and with a corrupt 
officer, disposition and influence would depend upon the material consideration 
by which they should be cultivated. 

Unfortunately for the reputation of the jail, unfortunately for the poor and 
friendless prisoners, unfortunately, in some instances at least, for the character 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. C> 

of the military service, and to the dishonor of public morals, one man, clothed 
with official power, and subject to official responsibility as deputy Avarden of the 
jail, was found base and iniamons enough to prostitute his office to the sale of 
prisoners on a brokerage. lie communicated with them himself on the subject 
of selling themselves as substitutes, and, in violation of the known rules of the 
jail, he permitted communication to be held with them by others. He did it for 
pay, sullied his office and his name by the price of blood, and in the judgment 
of your committee has added perjury to corruption. 

Your committee have no desire to do injustice to any man, and they therefore 
ask to incorporate in the report itself which it is their duty to make the mate- 
rial portion of the evidence of Benedict Milburn, the deputy warden, to whom 
they have alluded. He was sworn before us, and permitted, at his own re- 
quest, to make a statement explanatory of the testimony given by him in an- 
swer to direct interrogatories. 

He swears that he has been the deputy warden of the jail since the 11th of 
April, 1864, under Robert Beal, warden, and was there before for twenty 
months under the marshal ; that he knew of the removal of prisoners convicted 
of, or charged with, crime from the jail, for the purpose of being recruited into 
the military service of the United States since April 11, 1864; that he himself 
took out one man by the name of Jackson, under direction of the warden, and 
that some eighty men had been taken out on bail, in the aggregate, for the same 
purpose ; that the charges against them were various, but principally for lar- 
ceny; that Benjamin F. Beveridjre had more to do with the applications to take 
out the prisoners than anybody else ; that they had been taken out for various 
persons connected with the courts ; that Judge Fisher and his friends had taken 
them out; that one person had been taken out to be sent to the army as a rep- 
resentative for Mr. Lincoln ; that he aided the persons applying to take them 
out, by stating to them the nature of the crimes for which they were committed, 
or giving them copies of the commitments, showing the causes for Avhich they 
were committed ; that he received money in the case of Jackson — the sum re- 
ceived being S325 ; that Beveridge had made him presents for informa- 
tion given to him, but that he did not know for wJiat the presents were 
given, as nothing was stated by Beveridge as to the purpose of the pres- 
ents ; that he, the Avitness, supposed it was lor information and service, 
and that the amount was as much as -S200 ; that he thought Beveridge 
was making money out of it ; and therefore he, witness, might, with propriety, 
accept a remuneration ; that he, the witness, would not swear that he had not 
received more than $200, nor that he had not received $500, though he thought 
he had not received as much as that, but could not tell, because he kept no 
account of it ; that he never asked any remuneration from Beveridge, and told 
him he did not want any, as he was doing only his duty ; that he also received 
from Robert M. Beal, a son of the warden, $40 for procuring a substitute ; that 
he sometimes went into the jail to inquire whether prisoners desired to go into 
the army, but not often ; that he was requested to do so by the warden ; that 
at one time he went in Avith Thompson, a laAvyer, about sunset, to see a prisoner, 
for Avhom Thompson said he Avas counsel, and learned afterwards that he, Thomp- 
son, wanted to get a prisoner as a substitute ; that there Avas a custom, but not 
a rule, prohibiting the visiting of prisoners at that hour, or after 4 o'clock p. m., 
Avhen they Avere locked up ; that of his OAvn knoAvledge he could not say that 
any other officer of the jail had ever received money for services in procuring 
substitutes ; that he iiimself had never receiA^ed any money, except in the cases 
stated ; that Jackson, the prisoner aboA^e referred to, Avas taken out in the first 
place at the request or instance of the Avarden ; Judge Carter gave a note of 
introduction for a Mr. Murphy, addressed to Mr. Beal, the Avarden, speaking 
highly of Mr. Murphy, and asking Mr. Beal to aid him in obtaining a substitute 
from the jail ; that he, the Avitness, saAV the latter, and that Beal requested him 



4 E.NLISTIXG CRIMINALS. 

to find a man as substitute, and tliat Jackson offered to go as a substitute on 
application of the witness ; that Jackson M'as taken out, examined, and rejected, 
by reason of a defective eye; and tliat witness then putliim into the second sub- 
district of the District of Columbia as a representative substitute for a i\Ir. Hill, 
and received for it $325. 

The witness further stated that the particular cases, or the names of partic- 
ular persons remember(;d by him as taken out of jail for the purpose before 
stated, were as follows : 

William A. Jackson, a white man, taken out by witness on the 6th of Octo- 
tober, 1S64, charged with grand larceny in stealing $400 or $500 in money, 
and a gold watch M'orth .$70 or $S0; Levi Underwood, a black man, sentenced 
for grand larceny, and tak(.'n out about three months since ; Solomon Young, 
a colored man, sentenced for grand larceny and pardoned; Thomas jMilstead, 
a white man, charged with horse-stealing, and let out on bail about four months 
smce; and John Stearne and Robert Garcie, both charged with the same offence 
of stealing from a jewelry store in Washington from $500 to $800 worth of 
property, and both held for trial; and one George Washington Morrell, a colored 
man, charged with horse-stealing and other offences, and held for trial; and that 
many others, in all amounting to about eighty, had been taken out. The witness 
further stated that the usual course of proceedings was as follows : Any one 
desiring a substitute would apply to a broker or friend, and then application 
would generally be made to witness for information as to persons confined and 
held for trial, urpersons under conviction. In cases where parties were still held 
for trial, a copy of the commitment would be furnished and taken to the 
court or judge, bail given for the party in prison, the prisoner taken out for ex- 
amination, and if accepted for the service he was not brought back; if rejected, 
Le was generally recommitted, and the bail discharged. Some thirty of the 
parties bailed out were rejected and recommitted. 

We have now given a candid abstract of the tpstimony of Mr. Milburn, and 
in connexion with it we think it due, in reference to the opinions above expressed, 
to state that Mr. Benjamin F. Beveridge, spoken of by the witness Milburn, 
has been examined on oath before the committee, and testified that he was en- 
gaged as a business in part in procuring substitutes ; that he had frequent 
interviews with Milburn ; that sometimes he applied to Milburn for information 
as to parties confined in the jail, and that sometimes Milburn would call upon 
him, and say that their were parties there who could be secured as substitutes; 
that he paid for such as he procured through Milburn tivcnij/ dollars apiece ; 
that that was the sum which Milhurn demanded of him, and claimed the service 
to he worth, and that he thus procured somewhere from 25 to 30 or more substi- 
tutes. It is therefore clear, if Beveridge is entitled to credit, which we do not 
doubt, that Milburn's allegation that he did not ask remuneration, is not only 
untrue, but that he did demand, and fixed the value of his service at the specific 
price of twenty dollars per man. 

It also appears from the testimony of Beveridge, that he was in the habit of 
paying Duval, Fayna, and others of the jail guard, some small douc<;ur of from 
one dollar to five dollars for taking the prisoners before a magistrate, or court 
to be baih'd, or for other services and facilities rendered him in the premises. 

Several guards of the jail have been called before us and sworn, and each one has 
admitted, with apparent frankness, that it has been usual to receive from the party 
obtaining a substitute from the jail a small douceur for taking the prisoner in 
charge to the court or magi:<trate, or to the place of examination, the highest 
sum paid therefor being five dollars. Mr. Robert Beal, the warden, has testified 
before us on oath that he lias never, directly or indirectly, received one cent of 
gratuity or remuneration, in any case of a prisoner let to bail, or released for 
the purposes of substitute ; nor has he ever known of the payment or receipt of 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 5 

any money for siicli purpose, except in the case of Milburn, and that by his 
recent admission. 

Judges Fisher and Carter have also been summoned before us and examined, 
and the undersigned are happy to say that there is no reliable testimony in 
the case to show that they have ever improperly desired the release of a single 
prisoner, or committ«>d any act whatever unbecoming either the dignity or 
integrity of their position. 

The undersigned reprobate the action of any guard of the jail in receiving 
any gratuity for the performance of a duty connected with his charge ; but, in 
their judgment, no one of such guards has corruptly received a consideration 
for aiding in the pi'ocuring of substitutes, nor has in fact aided in the procure- 
ment itself. 

From the investigations which they have made, the undersigned are satisfied 
that one man, and one alone, of the officers in any wise connected with the ad- 
ministration of justice, or Avith the charge of prisoners, has been guilty of such 
corruption and malfeasance in office as to call for severe and special censure, 
and that man is Benedict Milburn. 

Aside from the corruption to which he was a party, by express or implied 
contract with Beveridge, his action in the case of Jackson -was such as might 
well satisfy the highest ambition for infamy. 

From the testimony of the chief of the police, contained in the evidence sub- 
mitted with this report, it appears that Jackson was an old offender, and had 
previously been committed twice for criminal offences in 1864, while Milburn 
held the office of deputy w.irden. Milburn must have known Mm, as is stated 
by the chief of the police, and we assume that he did know him. Those 
commitments were for grand larceny, and the commitment for which he 
was held for trial at the time that Milburn sold him as a substitute to 
Mr. Hill was for the larceny of property to the amount of at least $580. 
Still, after knowledge of his being rejected as a substitute on his original 
letting to bail upon the application of Murphy, Milburn, without authority 
of law, without the request of his superior, aiid without his knowledge, and for 
the consideration of $325 in hand paid, sells him as a representative substitute 
to Mr. Hill, of Georgetown; and the notorious convict, ready to commit new de- 
predations and new crimes, takes his place beside some honest soldier in the 
army of the republic. At the time that he was thus taken out for bail, it appears 
by the testimony of Duval and others of the jail guard, that Jackson, then in 
citizen's clothing, acknowledged and stated, in the prcsetire and //caring f)/^ Mil- 
hum, that he was then already in the military service of the United States, and 
Milburn knew that he was either a deserter, and liable as such, or was incapable 
of being musti.'red in as a substitute because of his existing obligations to the 
service. 

Still for money, arising from the sale, in violation of his duty as an officer, in 
disregard of the interest and character of the service, Benedict Milburn became 
the bail of the criminal, placed him in the army, pocketed the bribe, and then 
procured the entry of a nolle prosequi by the district attorney on the proceeding 
against Jackson, and thus discharged the obligation given for his appearance to 
answer for crime. 

It is in proof bi fore us, as might have been expected, that .fackson is again 
a deserter from the army, and his arrest is now being sought, for the purpose of 
bringing him to punishment; for burglary in entering an office, in Alexandria, 
connected with the military administration, and there breaking open and robbing 
a safe, and taking therefrom the sum of $1,100 belonging to his brother soldiers, 
and deposited for safe keeping. 

The undersigned have been informed that since this investigation has com- 
menced before them, Mr. Milburn has been dismissed from his office, and they 



6 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

* 

are pleased to recognize the di^^inissal as a distinction to which he i> most emi- 
nently entitled by his m(>rits and his character. 

There are but two or three additional facts bearing upon the matter presented, 
a statement of which seems material. 

Benjamin F. Beveridgo, who seems to have been the principal o])erator at the 
jail in the procurement of substitutes, was, by authority of the warden, furnished 
with more than ordinary facilities for learning the condition and disposition of 
prisoners. He seems to have been designated by the warden for this purpose, 
for the reason, as stated by the warden, that it was better to have one person 
visit the jail than to have a number of irresponsible and improper persons holding 
conference Avith prisoners. 

Beveridge became bail, as it appears by a statement from the jail docket, in 
twenty-seven cases, and that in some cases prisoners were released on their own 
recognizances. The profits of the business, on the part of B;.'veridge, ranged 
from $.50 to §150 on a prisoner. 

It is, perhaps, just to mention, that the man Jackson, who was bailed by 
Milburn, oflPered himself to Beveridge as a substitute, and that Beveridge refused 
to accept him, or give bail for him, by reason of his infamous character and the 
serious nature of the chai'ge against him 

The undersigned respectfully suggest that the evils of this system should be 
remedied by penal enactment, prohibiting the recruiting of persons into the mili- 
tary or naval service while under charge of crime in the District of Columbia, and 
either confined or held for trial ; and further prohibiting, under severe penalties, 
any officer of the jail, or any guard thereof, from receiving, directly or indirectly, 
any fee, emolument, compensation, gratuity, or reward, other than his salary or 
legal pay, for any service rendered or information given to any person in virtue 
of his office or employment or in any matter connected therewith. 

The undersigned respectfully recommend the passage of an act herewith sub- 
mitted, for the purpose of effecting the objects desired. 

THOMAS T. DAVIS, 
J. W. PATTERSON, 

Of the Committee. 
Washixgton, February 20, 1S65. 



T E S T I M N Y 



TAKEN BEFORE 



Thomas T. Davis and J. W. Patterson, from the Committee for the District 
of Colmnlna, on resolution of inquiry in respect to ja\l, S^'c. 

Wednesday, Fchruary 22, 1865. 

B. MiLBURN called, sworn and examined : 

Qviestion. What connexion have you -with the jail in the city of Washington 1 

Answer. I am a deputy under ilobert Beale as warden. I keep the books 
of the jail. 

Question. How long have you been there ? 

Answer. I have been there under Mr. Beale since the 11th of April, 1864. 
I was there for twenty months previous to that period under the marshal of the 
District. 

Question. Do you know anything about the removal of prisoners convicted 
of or charged with crime from the jail for the purpose of being recruited into 
the military service of the United States since the 11th day of April, 1864? 

Answer. I do. I took out myself, under the direction of the warden, one 
man by the name of Jackson. Some eighty meii have been taken out altogether 
for that purpose. 

Question. On what chai'ges were these men committed ? 

Answer. On various charges, principally for larceny, but for all kinds of 
crime except murder. 

Question. What persons have been engaged in taking out prisoners for 
enlisted men ? 

Answer. Benjamin Y. Beveridge has had more to do with it than any other person. 

Question. For whom have they been taken out ? 

Answer. For several persons connected with the courts. Judge Fisher and 
his friends have taken out men, one was taken out and put into the army as a 
representative for Mi-s. Lincoln, and other persons have taken them out. 

Question. Did you aid any persons in taking out prisoners ? 

Answer. I have aided them by stating the crimes for which prisoners were 
committed to jail; that is, I gave parties applying copies of the commitments, 
showing the crimes for which prisoners Avere committed. 

Question. Have you ever received any money for aiding any person or per- 
sons in taking out prisoners as substitutes 1 

Answer. 1 received money in the case of Jackson, and have received presents 
from Beveridge for information which I have given him. It was not, however, 
stated by him for what these presents were given. 

Question. How much money did Beveridge give you for this service ? 

Answer. I do not know that he gave it to me for this service. He did not 
say what it was for. I suppose it was for information I had given and services 
I had rendered to Beveridge in this matter. He gave me as much as $200. 

Question. Did you think that Beveridge was making money out of it, and, 
therefore, could aftbrd to give you compensation 1 

Answer. I did. 

Question. Will you say that you have not received more than S200 for this 
purpose ■? 

Answer. I will not ; I kept no account ; I may have received more than $200. 

Question. Will you swear that you have not received $500 '? 

Answer. I will not swear that I have not received S500, as I kept no account ; 
I cannot tell, but I believe I did not receive as much as that. 



8 ENLISTING CKIMINALS. 

Question. I Mil you receivo inoiicy from others for this purpose? 
Answer. I received from Robert ^l. Beale, 840. lieale is connected with 
Bevcridge in this business. I received, also, in the case of Jackson, from 
George Hill, of Georgetown, $325. 

Question. Did you visit the i)risoners in jail to ascertain whether vou could 
get substitutes for dift'erent persons? 

Answer. I sometimes went into the jail to inquire whether parties desired to go 
into the army, but not often ; I was requested to do so by ^Ir. Beale, the warden ; 
I Went in, in one instance about sunset, with Mr. Thompson, a lawyer, Avho said 
he was counsel for a prisoner he desired to see. A friend aecompanied Thomp- 
son. I afterwards learned that he wanted the man as a substitute. 

Question. Is there any rule which forbids officers of the prison from visiting 
prisoners at night, or after a particular hour ? 

Answer. There is no rule; there is a custom not to see prisoners after 4 
o'clock, unless by order of the court, or of a magistrate. 

Question. Did you ever take any person in to see a prisoner except in the 
case of Thompson, unless by order of the court, or of a magistrate ? 

Answer. I never did. I went into the jail with a committee of the 4th ward, 
by order of Judge Cartter, and have at other times been through the jail for the 
same purpose, but always on an order from one of the judges. 

Question. Do you know of other officers of the jail receiving money f.r ser- 
vices of this description ? 

Answer. I do not of my own knowledge. 

Question. Did you ever receive any except from the persons you have named? 

Answer. I did not. 

Question. What was the mode of proceeding in these cases ? 

Answer. Any one desiring a substitute would apply to a broker or friend, 
and that party would make application to me for information as to persons con- 
tincd and held for trial, or persons imder conviction, and get a copy of the commit- 
ment, and, in cases where the parties charged were still held for trial, a copy of 
the commitment was taken to the court or judge, bail was given fir the party in 
prison, the prisoner taken out for examination, and if accepted he was not 
brought back, if he was rejected he was generally recommitted, and the bail 
discharged. Some thirty of the men who were taken out on bail, I think, were 
returned and recommitted, not having passed examination. 

Question. Had Hill obtained substitutes there before the case of Jackson ? 

Answer. Yes, he had taken out two before. I desire to make this explanation, 
with the permission of the committee : Mr. Beale, the warden, appointed 
Bevcridgc to act as substitute-broker. Judge Cartter wrote a letter of introduc- 
tion to Mr. Beale for Major Murphy. 

Question. Did you see the letter ? 

Answer. I did ; the letter spoke of the object which Major Murphy had in 
view, which was to get a substitute, and requested Mr. Beale to aid him in ob- 
taining one. 

Question. AVhat persons do you remember Avho have been taken from the 
jail to be enlisted into the military service since April 11th, 1S64 ? 

Answer. Those I now remember are William A. Jackson, white man, taken 
out by myself on the Gth of October last, charged with grand larceny in steal- 
ing four or five hundred dollars in money, and a watch worth seventy or eighty 
dollars ; Levi Underwood, black man, sentenced for grand larceny, taken out 
about three months since ; ^Solomon Young, colored man, taken out about a 
month since, charged with grand larceny, tried, convicted, and released on par- 
don ; Thomas ]\lilred, white man, chaiged with horse-stealing, and held for 
trial, taken out about four months since ; John Stearne and Robert Garcia, both 
charged with the same offence of stealing from a jewelry store in the city five 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 9 

or eight hniidred dollars or more ■worth of property, held for trial ; a great 
many others have been taken out, I should think about eighty since 1 went 
there ; one George Washington Morrill, a colored man, was taken out a fevr 
days since, charged with horse-stealing and other offences, held for trial ; Ben- 
jamin F. Beveridge was the party who Avas principally engaged in taking out 
prisoners. When I Avas applied to, I looked over the list of prisoners to see 
the charges against them, and furnished copies of commitment to Beveridge. I 
gave him the names of persons who desired to go into the army. 1 received 
money from Beveridge, but I uniformly told him I did not ask anything, I was 
only doing my duty. 

I desire with the consent of the committee to state in the case of Jackson, that 
Mr. Beale received a letter of introduction for Major Murphy from Judge Cart- 
ter, speaking highly of him, and asking Mr. Beale to get him a substitute from 
the jail. Mr. Beale asked me to find a man for him, and I found Jackson. He 
was taken out and was examined and rejected as a substitute for defective eye. 
I then put him in as a representative substitute for the quota of the District of 
Columbia. Judge Fisher sent several letters asking to aid persons in securing 
substitutes. The letters were sometimes sent to Mr. Beale, and sometimes to 
myself. 

Robert Bbale called, sworn and examined. 

Question. What connexion have you with the jail of the District of Colum- 
bia? 

Answer. I am its warden. 

Question. How long have you served in that capacity? 

Answer. Since the 11th of April last. 

Question. Have you known anything in regard to enlistment of recruits from 
among convicts in the jail, persons under sent('iice, or persons charged Avith 
felony, since you have been warden ? 

AnsAver. 1 do not know it personally, or of my own knowledge. I sit in my 
office, and I am not personally aAvare of the fact when they send prisoners 
either to the judge or to the committing magistrate to be bailed. I knoAv that 
the citizens of this place, when they Avere attempting to fill their ijuota, came 
in considerable numbers to the jail to get substitutes. Well, Lhad no objec- 
tion to that. They Avould ask a man Avhen he came up to the grating, " Will 
you go in the army V 1 have been told this took place ; I never witnessed it 
myself. The man Avould say, " Yes," and then the parties seeking him Avould 
go and ask the judge to let that man out on bail, and he Avould be sent OA'er to 
the court, Avith the statement of the cause of his commitment, his offence, and 
the amount of money stolen, if he was held for larceny. 

Question. Who furnished the copy of the commitment] 

AnsAver. Well, I consulted Avith Judge Cartterand Judge Fisher on the sub- 
ject, and I suggested that it would be Avell enough to have the cause of com- 
mitment furnished to the court, and I instructed Mr. Milburn, for the in- 
formation of the judges, to send a copy of the commitment. This Avas not done 
in cases Avhere prisoners were committed, by magistrates, because one magis- 
trate cannot take out a prisoner that another has sent in. 

On one occasion. Judge Cartter addressed a note to me for some friend of his. 

Question. Mr. Murphy ? 

Answer. I believe that was his name; I never saw the gentleman, that 1 
know of. Mr. Milburn told me tAvo or three days ago that he let a man out for 
Judge Cartter, and got, I think, some 6300 for liim ; and if the man did not go 
in the army right aAvay, he Avould haA-e been returned to the prison. It Avas 
the understanding Avilh the judge that if the man did not go into the army he, 
should be returned, to be tried, sentenced and punished according to laAv. 
Rep. Com. 23 2 



10 ENLISTING CRIxMINALS. 

Question. l>i(l a\Iilbm-ii tell you whether that man went into the army? 

Answer. I think lie said that tliey did not take him into the army, but into a 
district court liere. 

Question. Do you mean to say that it was tlie understanding;; with the judges 
that men might be tak(;n out of prison on bail bonds, provided they would go 
into the army ? 

Answer. Well, that was the luulerstanding, at least with Judge Fisher, in the 
case of a man who was convicted of stealing $2 50, and sentenced for three 
years. I asked for a committee to consult with Judge Carter about this matter. 

Question. Is not jNlr. Beveridge a substitute broker 1 

Answer. lie keeps the Washington House, at the corner of Third street. 

Question. Was not he engaged in this business of getting men out of the jail 
m substitutes, and was he not appointed by you ? 

Answer. I wish to tell you all about that. There Avas no appointment at all. 
There was a great ci'owd around there after substitutes^, and 1 told Mr. Bever- 
idge, thinking there was no more harm to let him in than anybody else, " there 
are men here ; I do not want any of my men to do anything excej)t to watch 
you ; go on and find out who is in there, who is willing to be enlisted." And I 
have no doubt in the world that he got paid twenty, fifty, or a hundred dollars 
for each man. 

Question. Did he apply to you before he proceeded m that matter 1 

Answer. No, sir ; he was around there along with the rest of them. I 
thought he was a worthy man. Mr. Milburn himself Avould have done it, but I 
would not allow it because he was an officer of the jail. I never approved of 
what he did in sending men out ; but I never found it out until the other day. 

Question. How many did he take out of the jail and put into the army 1 

Answer. I cannot say how many have been sent into the army. 

Question. How many do you suppose have been put into the army by substi- 
tute brokers or their friends ? 

Answer. Well, I cannot tell you ; I never saw the face of one of them. I 
do not go around in the prison except to see that everything is clean. I have a 
memorandum here, however, which I will read to the committee : 

Office United States Jail, 

Washington, February 21, 1865. 
The males discharged from this prison from the 11th day of April last (as 
shown by the jail docket) to this date are as follows : 

By the honorable court 77 

district attorney 11 

grand jury 45 

marshal 335 

justices of the peace 308 

756 

We have no means of knowing what number of the above discharged prisoners 
entered the army ; when a prisoner is discharged on bail or otherwise, we ha^'e no 
means of knowing where he goes to. 

ROBERT BEALE, Warden. 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 11 

The foIloAving- is a list of the magistrates on Avhose order prisoners have been 
discharged : 

Ncancs of Justices (if the Peace. 

S. Drury. G. L. Giberson. 

E. G. Handy. J. H. Johnson. 

Wm. Thompson. Z. A. Bosvvell. 

James Cull. T. G. Clayton. 

M. V. Biickey. E. H. Bates. 

N. H. Miller. B. S. Kinsey. 

B. W. Eurgerson. J. W, Barnaclo. 

J. S. Holingshead. H. Reaver. 
A. Gladmon. 

Very few persons come to the jail on this business. As soon as a man is ar- 
rested these sharks follow him to the magistrate's office, and look at him. If 
he seems to be a strong able-bodied man, they find out the charge on which he 
has been arrested ; tell him he will probably be sent to the penitentiaiy, and 
ask him if he would not like to go into the army. If he says he would, they go 
to the magistrate's office, give bail and take him off. If they are sent to the jail 
there is not a man of them released until a statement of the cause of his com- 
mitment is sent to the judge. 

Question. Have these parties paid you any money for this? 

Answer. No. That man does not live who could pay me money for such 
service. 

Question. Have they paid any money to anybody in the jail for this purpose ? 

Answer. I do not know. If you ask me what I think, that is another matter. 

Question. Have you ever paid money, directly or indirectly, to Mi'. Milburn 
for taking men out of the jail ? 

Answer. Not to any human being on this earth. 

Question. Has your son done that to your knowledge ? 

Answer. I never heard of such a thing until Milburn said just xiow that my 
son had given him $40. 

Question. You say that applications were made for persons to be taken out 
on bail as substitutes for the army; do you know of any instances where per- 
sons so taken out to be examined have been rejected and leturned to the jail, 
because of their rejection ? 

Answer. I am sure there have been several. 

Question. Do you know whether in other cases, where these persous have 
been received into the army, when the cases have been called in court of the 
bail being discharged by the entry of a nolle prosequi ? 

Answer. I have heard the order given by the district attorney in some of 
these cases to enter a nolle frosequi. 

Question. Eor what reason % 

Answer. I did not hear the reason, but I suppose because the men were in 
the army. I am sure some of them were persons who had been taken from tbe 
jail for that purpose. 

Question. Eor what crimes had these persons been committed to the jail % 

Answer. Principally for larceny, assault and battery, &c. I do not know of 
any persons charged with high crimes being taken off for that purpose, except 
in two instances, pardoned by the President. I do not know what they were 
pardoned for, but they went into the army. 

Question. What rules have you in regard to officers of the jail visiting prisoners 
in jail ? 

Answer. Grand jurors have the right to come in and sec prisoners. The re- 
latives of white prisoners have the privilege of seeing them in the morning, and 



12 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

colored people have llic paine privilege ia the afternoon. Another rule is that 
no officer shall have anything to do with taking any prisoner out, or shall be 
connected with it as bail or in anyway except to take them out on the order of 
a judge or nlagistrat(^ 

Question. Is there any portion of the day or night during which officers are 
prohibited by your rules from going in to see prisoners 1 

Answer. 'J'hey are not permitted to do so after four o'clock except by the order 
of a judge or magistrate, or in some peculiar case, such as sickness or something 
of that kind. The night watch have to go their rounds every half hour. 

Question. Have you any knowledge of any officer in the jail visiting prisoners 
in violation of your rules for purposes connected with enlistment? 

Answer. Not of my own knowledge. Some of the guards of the jail told me 
the other day that a colored man came to Mil burn and wanted to see a prisoner 
very much. Milburn at first refused, but afterwards went into the next room, 
and subsequently about 9 o'clock at night came out and went up stairs with him. 
When they came down stairs the man took a $100 note and slipped it into Mil- 
burn's hands ; Bell, one of the guards, saw the money delivered. Milburn Avent 
up to Bell, after the man had gone out and requested him not to mention it to 
anybody. That is all I know about it. The next day I was informed the man 
had been taken out and put into the army. 

Question. Do you know of any other officer of the jail than ]\Lilburn who 
has received any compensation or money for aid in securing the enlistment 
of prisoners confined on charge or conviction of crime? 

Answer. I have no knowledge of any such. 

Question. Will you state who of the magistrates are most engaged in the 
business of letting out prisoners for this i)urpose ? 

Answer. Justices Giberson and Johnson. 

Question. Do you know that Beveridge has paid money to ]Milburn ? 

Answer. Only by Milburn's own confession. 

Question. In the case of the 300 persons who you say have been dismissed 
by magistrates, do you know whether they went into the army? 

Answer. I do not know anything about it. 

Question. Do you know any other matter connected with the subject of this 
investigation which it would be proper for you to state to promote the ends of 
j ustice ? 

Answer. I do not know that I do. 

Be.\ja.\iin F. Bevkrid.ge called, sworn, and examined: 

Question. What is your business ? 

Answer. I keep a store on the avenue. 

Question. How long have you lived in the city? 

Answer. From fourteen to sixteen years. 

Question. Have you attended to any other business than that of merchan- 
dise during the last year ? 

Answer. I have been doing a little of all kinds of business. 

Question. Have you done anything in the substitute business? 

Answer. Yes, sir, but not as a broker. 

Question. In what capacity ? 

Answer. I have merely helped my friends in different ways to obtain sub.sti- 
tutes. 

Question. Have you ever received compensation therefor ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. AVhere have you principally obtained substitutes ? 

Answer. I have got some from the jail. 

Question. How many have you obtained from that source? 

Answer. I do not know; perhaps 25 or 30; in that neighborhood. 

Question. What was the method of getting them out of jail ? 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 13 

Answer. The way we got tliem was generally this : I would get the name 
of a person committed to jail. I went to the jail and found out parties there 
who were committed for trifling offences. Mr. Milburn, the jailer, would gene- 
rally give me a certificate of what the offence was ; he would also tell me 
when persons came to the jail. 

Question. Was it on your request that he came to you? 

Answer. Sometimes I Avould ask him, and sometimes he me ; and finding a 
man committed for some trifling offence, I would give security and get him 
out. * 

Question. Did you become the security yourself ? 

Answer. Sometimes I did, and sometimes the men I was getting substitutes- 
for would go security. 

Question. Was Mr. Milburn him.'~:elf sometimes the security? 

Answer. 1 think in one or two instances he was. 

Question. Did the magistrates become security in any state? 

Answer. No, sir, not to my knowledge. 

Question. Had you any arrangement with Milburn in regard to this ? 

Answer. The only arrangement I had was that when I Avent to him for in- 
formation he would tell me that I ought to pay him for his services, and I 
would generally allow him $20. 

Question. Did you ever allow him moi-e than that ? 

Answer. No, sir; T think 1 paid him about that for each case. 

Question. And you think you have taken oiit 25 or 30 prisoners ? 

Answer. I do not know ; 1 think about that many. 

Question. Did you say that Milburn asked j'ou for compensation ? 

Answer. He said I ought to pay him for his trouble. 

Question. Did he name the price ? 

Answer. He said he thought I ought to pay him about $20. 

Question. Did he first suggest to you this mode of obtaining substitutes ? 

Answer. No, I cannot say that he did. I think it was one of the guards of 
the jail who first suggested it. He said he thought I could obtain men from 
there. I said I would see Mr. Milburn and find out. 

Question. Did he state that Milburn would assist you ? 

Answer. He did not say positively that he would. 

Question. What is the name of that person ? 

Answer. I do not know which of the guards it was. 

Question. Did you give that person any compensation ? 

Answer. No, sir, I do not know that I ever did. I have given the guard 
small sums sometimes. When they were off duty they have helped me to go 
with a man, and I have given them something. 

Question. About what amount would you generally give ? 

Answer. G-enerally about $5. I have often assisted friends. The Secretary 
of the Interior once sent for a man to be gotten out for some of his relations — 
a nephew or somebody. 

Question. Have you that letter ? 

AnsAver. No, sir, 1 think it is in the jail. 

Question. Did he send it to you ? 

Answer. No, sir, he sent it, I believe, to Mr. Beale, the warden. 

Question. How did you get notice in regard to it ? 

Answer. 1 believe Mr. Beale told me to see if there was any one in there 
available, and, if so, to let this gentleman have him. I believe he got cue, and 
put h'm in. 

Question. Did you go into the prison and consult with prisoners on this sub- 
ject? 

Answer. Sometimes I would. 

Question. On an order from Mr. Beale ? 



14 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

Answer. It \v;i3 in this way : There would be so many persons tliere looking 
for substitutes — sometimes ten or twenty in a day — that Mr. Beale spoke to 
Judge Fisher, suggesting that he should get some one to attend to the matti'r, 
and help citizens to get substitutes. Judge Fisher assented, and Mr. Beale 
told me that if I would attend to it I could do it. 

Question. You Avere really then appointed by him as an agent for this work? 

Answer. I could not say Avhat you might call it. ^Ir. Milburn was the one 
"who would generally do everything. 

Question. Were your negotiations there always with Mr. Milburn ] 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Did Mr. Milburn take you in to see prisoners'? 

Answer. No, sir ; he sent me up sometimes with the guards, or told the 
guards to let me go. 

Question. Was it necessary for you to have the order of ]Mr. Beale or of one 
of the judges of the court ? 

Answer. No ; a great many would bring orders. 

Question. Have you any idea how much money you have paid in the aggre- 
^•ate to Mr. Milburn for the services he has rendered ? 

Answer. I do not know ; I could not tell. 

Question. How much bounty did you get from these men ? 

Answer. Sometimes I would get $100, and sometimes $50, more than I paid 
them ; and sometimes put them in without any advance. 

Question. What is the highest you ever received for these prisoners 1 

Answer. About S200, after paying the man. 

Question. What did you pay the man ? 

Answer. Sometimes $200, and sometimes $300. 

Question. Then you have received as high as $600 as the whole amount ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. ♦ 

Question. And you could afford to pay the bail if it Avas forfeited ? 

Answer. If I brought a certificate that the man was in the army he would 
not be tried by a criminal court. The first case I ever knew, I think, was of a 
man sentenced to the penitentiary, who Avas put in as a representative for Mrs. 
Lincoln. An order was brought from the President to deliver him up ; and 
there was another case of the same sort for Mr. Lincoln himself. 

I remember that there Avere so many running to the jail that Mr. Beale went 
to see the proA'ost marshal, jMr. Ingraham, and told him that there were a good 
many parties in the jail that he might as Avell take out and make soldiers of. I 
think a lieutenant came down and got six or seven, but some of them would not 
pass and were brought back. He said he Avould come again, but I do not know 
as he ever came there more than once or twice on that business. I think he 
brought an order from the court, or from some of the judges, stating that if there 
'were any men there Avho Avanted to go into the army he could put them in. He 
took that order to Mr. Beale, sent some guards and picked out six, took them 
up, but they Avould not pass and he brought them back again. 

Question. In the cases mentioned by you of the President and Mrs. Lincoln, 
did they order particular men] 

Answer. I think the last time the order Avas for a particular man. 

Question. Do you know what the crime Avas? 

AnsAver. He Avas charged Avith stealing nine or ten dollars, and A\-as sentenced 
to the penitentiary for one year. The man had been taken up once for exam- 
ination and they did not want to accept him because he had been convicted, but 
I believe this order Avas shown to the proA'ost marshal and he accepted him. 

Question. Was the order a pardon ? 

AnsAver. No, sir; I do not think there Avas any pardon granted. 

Question. Do you know Avhether any of these men Avere deserters or not be- 
or e being put in jail? 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 15 

Answer. No; I never heard of but one, and he, it was said, had been in the 
service. I know nothing about it. That was the one Milburn took out. 

Question. Do you know of other persons having obtained substitutes tliere, 
who have paid money to officers of the jail 1 

Answer. No. 

G. L. Gfberson, called, sworn and examined. 

Question. What is your profession ? 

AnsAver. I am police and metropolitan justice, 4th ward, city of Washington, 
at the City Hall, in the neighborhood of the jail. 

Question. Have you acted in that capacity during the last year ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Do you know anything of the manner in which this brokerage 
has been conducted, for procuring substitutes in the jail? 

Answer. Nothing in the world, except that sometimes I have admitted per- 
sons to bail who have been taken out of the jail — generally small offences. 
Bail has been given and filed in the office in all such cases. 

Question. For what crime were such persons in custody ? 

Answer. I do not know of any particular cases that I can recall. 

Question. Did you admit to bail any persons Avho were charged with grand 
larceny ? 

Answer. I do not now recollect, it is probable I did. 

Question. Did you commit John Stearne and Robert Garcia, for grand larceny 
in robbing a jewelry store 1 

Answer. I do not now recollect. 

Question. On whose application, or in what Avay, did you discharge these 
persons 1 

Answer. Upon the parties giving bail, I would release them as a matter of 
course. 

Question. Was this business, so far as you know, conducted principally by 
one or two individuals, or wei-e there various persons connected with it ? 

Answer. Sometimes one and sometimes another. 

Question. Was application ever made to you by Mr. Milburn 1 

Answer. Never that I recollect. 

Question. Did he ever become bail for any party held by you or committed 
by you 1 

Answer. Never to my recollection. 

Question. Did you ever receive from any person offering bail any con- 
sideration for admitting such person to bail 1 

Answer. No, sir ; I would scorn such a thing. 

Question. Do you know of any person having received money for such service ? 

Answer. I do not. 

Question. Have you any idea of the number of persons committed by you 
charged with crime, who were bailed for the purpose of being enlisted in the 
army as substitutes 1 

Answer. I cannot say. There were very few considering the number of per- 
sons I committed. I suppose from my situation that I committed more persons 
than all the other justices in the city of Washington. 

Question. Can you form some approximate idea of the number ? 

Answer. I can recollect very few — perhaps half a dozen, not a dozen cases, I 
am sure. 

Question. Did the parties applying for these substitutes generally themselves 
become bail ? 

Answer. No, generally some person was taken as bail, who I thought was 
sufficient for the amount. If I understood the prisoner was to go into the army, 
of course I would lessen the bail. 



16 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

Question. ^Vllat ninouiit of'liiiil wa^ <^-('iK'rally required iu case^ of grand 
larceny 1 

Answer. Sometimes $5^00 or $250. 

Question. Did you ever know of any committee from tlie fourth ward going 
to the jail on this suliject'.' 

Answer. No, sir ; 1 never heard of it. 

Anson Dival called, sworn and examined. 

Question. What is your business 1 

Answer. I nm guard of the jail. 

Question. How long have you been there? 

Answer. Since the first of May, last. 

Question. ])o you know anything of prisoners having been taken from the 
jail for the ])urpose of being used as substitutes in the army. 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Plow many have been taken, in your judgment? 

Answer. I have no idea of the number, probably GO or 70. 

Question. Do you know whether any- officers of the jail have been engaged 
in obtaining these substitutes for a considt.'ration ? 

Answer. I do not know of any one but Mr. Milburn. 

Question What do you know of his receiving money for this purpose ? 

Answer, lie took a man out of jail who was committed on the 14th of Sep- 
tember last, under the name of William G. A. Jackson. The same man had 
previously been examined for the purpose of being taken out, but he stated he 
was already in the service. The officer from the provost marshal who examined 
him asked tlie character of the crime for which he was committed. It was 
stated he had stolen five or six hundred dollars and a gold watch. He was put 
back into the cell ; the officer would have nothing to do with him. Subsequent 
to that, on or about the 6th of October, Milburn took tlie man out, and, as I 
understand, I do not know the fact, went security for him for ^500. He put 
liim into the service, and Milburn told me he got 8325 for him. 

Question. Do you know anything of Milbnru's entering the jail at niglit for 
the purpose of getting out a substitute for a man by the name of Thompson? 
'-'■''Answer. Yes. I do not remember the date, but one evening some time, after 
the prisoners had been locked up, a negro man called at the jail to see a jjrisoner, 
but was refused on the ground that the man was locked up. It was contrary 
to the rules of the prison for any man to be seen after nightfall. The party 
had some conversation with Milburn which I did not hear. After a while Mil- 
burn, and Colonel Thompson, who claimed to be counsel for this mau, went inio 
the jail to see him. He, Colonel Thompson, and the negro man went in. 

Question. Did you know of any money being paid to Milburn at that time ? 

Answer. I saw a SlOO note in Milbnru's hand, the next day or day afterward, 
I forget which. 

Question. Did you know where he got it? 

Answer. I did not. 

Question. You stated in regard to Jacks )n that he had been examined be- 
fore IMilburn took him out, and that when his crime was ascertained, and that 
lie had already enlisted, the otHcer refused to liavi' anything to do with him. 
Did Milburn know that fact ? 

Answer. When the examination took place, ^lilhuni was present. The man 
stated distinctly that lu^ luul already enlisted and that his name was Johnson, 
not Jackson. 

Question. Was it stated that he was a deserter from the service ? 

Answer. I did not hear that. I understood him to say that he was in the 
service. 

Question. Did he say where he entered the service ? 



I 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 17 

Answer. I am not positive. He stated tliat he was in the service and, I think, 
that he enlisted in August. 

Question. How long after the party had been examined, in the first instance, 
before Milburn took him out and used him as a substitute 1 

Answer. It must have been perhaps 10 days. 

Question. Are you sure that Milburn knew he was already in the service? 

AnsAver. He had the same opportunity of knowing it with others in the room. 
It Avas stated distinctly. 

Question. In the case of Milburn's visiting the jail after the hour visits were 
prohibited, do you know whether Milborn was aware of the order prohibiting 
such visits 1 

Answer. He issued the order himself from Mr. Beale. 

Question. Have you at any time received pay for allowing agents or other 
persons to visit prisoners ? 

Answer. Never. I would like to say, lest there should be any misunder- 
standing, that sometimes, when I have gone down as a guard to the office where 
a man was put into the service, I have received, perhaps, five dollars, but at no 
time have I made any demand for money, nor any sort of bargains. I have 
always distinctly refused every offer that has been made me. 

Question. Have you received offers ? 

Answer. Numbers of times. 

Question. From whom 1 

Answer. A gentleman named Train offered me $600 to get him a substitute. 
Another friend of mine, a clerk in the mayor's office, by the name of Klopfer, 
without knowing anything of the impropriety of my engaging in the matter, 
offered to give $700 if I would procure a substitute from the jail ; but I told 
him distinctly that I was not in that business. 

Question. Have you received any other offers 1 

Answer. Major Donohue, whose son had been drafted, said he would give 
SSOO for a substitute for him. 

Question. Do you know whether any of the persons who applied to you did 
obtain substitutes from the jail? 

Answer. 1 do not know. 

Question. Can you mention any other parties? 

Answer. There have been other parties, but they were strangers to me. 

Question. Do you know of any other parties connected v/ith the jail having 
received money for the procuration of substitutes? 

Answer. I do not. 

Isaac W. Ross called sworn, and examined: 

Question. Are you one of the guards of the jail in this city ? 

Answer. I am. 

Question. How long have you been there? 

Answer. Since the first of May last. 

Question Do you know of any officers at the jail who have received pecu- 
niary compensation for procuring substitutes for the military service from per- 
sons in the jail charged with crime or convicted thereof? 

Answer. I have never meddled with that. I have never had anything to do 
with taking out substitutes in any shape or form. I have had orders that when 
certain persons came to the jail to let them in. I have been offered, outside, 
any amount of money to engage in the business, but I have always refused. I 
have received at times, from men who have been at the jail, small amounts of 
money, but 1 never knew their names or anything about it. 

Question. What amounts did you ever receive ? 

Answer. I could not say — very small. 
H. Rep. Com. 23 3 



18 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

Question. Do you suppose the persons hanclin<^ you inoufy in that way were 
there for tlie purpose of proem ino- substitutes? 

Answer. I suppose that was their business. I was authorized by my supe- 
rior officers to do what I was doing when these men came to let them in. 

Question. Do you know of tlie payment of any money to Mr. Milburn for 
this purpose ? 

Answer. I saw money brouglit in ou(! morning by a cok)ved man, contained 
in a note, which was given to ^Mr. Milburn. After a wliile .Mr. Milburn came 
to the door, having in his Iiand a $100 note. This man came from the party, 
as I supposed, who was taken in by Mr. Milburn one or two nights before. 

Question. Was it connected with this ariangement for getting a substitute on 
the application of Thompson ? 

Answer. I could not swear positively that it was. I understood that it was. 
I had gone home for supper Avhen they came there to get out a substitute. 

Question. Was anything said at that time by Milburn requesting you to con- 
ceal the fact that he had received this $100? 

Answer. He never said anything to me about it, one way or the other. 

Question. What other persons besides Mr. Beveridge procured any consid- 
erable number of substitutes from the jail ? 

Answer. There were bailiffs about the court v.'ho came there. A namesake 
of mine, William Ross, was one, and a man by the name of John Stuart was 
another. 

Question. Did you ever take these parties through the jail for that purpose? 

Answer. I never did. 

John Bell called, sworn and examined : 

Question. Are you one of the guards of the jail ? 

Answer. I am. 

Question. How long have you been there? 

Answer. Since the 7th of January, 1864. 

Question. Have you ever received any money for aiding in procuring substi- 
tutes from the jail ? 

Answer. As stated by other witnesses who have preceded me, I have re- 
ceived small auKumts at different times, but not otherwise. A gentleman came 
to me whom I did not know, and offered me two hundred dollars to tell him of 
the charges against some one in there who could be ol'tained as a substitute, but 
I did not do it. 

Question. What do you know about one hundred dollars being paid to Mr. 
Milburn, for giving access to the jail after the hour for locking prisoners up? 

Answer. I was sitting in the guard-room, with Mr. jMilburn, when a colored 
man came in and asked me to let him see a prisoner. I told him he could not 
possibly see him at that hour; he insisted upon seeing him; he wanted to know if I 
would let him see what charges were against him ; I told him he could see 
what charges were against him. The colored man said to me, "I will be honest 
with you about this matter, I Avant this man as a substitute; if you allow me 
to see him I will give you one hundred dollars; I will give the lawyer one 
hundred dollars, and the man two hundred dollars, which will make four hundred 
dollars; and tli'-re are two men I want, I will give the same for the other, which 
will make eight hundred dollars in all. Alter tliat I was called up stairs to take 
some medicme; when I came back the colored man was gone. Presently he 
came back with Colonel Th:)mpson — Tiiompson said he wanted to go up stairs 
to see the prisoner; 1 told him it was against the rules of the prison; it was 
then after dark. He turned round and asked Mr. ]\Iilburn if he could not see 
that prisoner, 3Iilburn replied that as it was him he would have to take the re- 
eponsibility. Upon that he took a lantern and went with Thompson and the 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 19 

colored man ixp stairs. I sat clown in tlie outer room. After some time they 
came down and went off. The next day I was off dnty. The morning folloAV- 
ing Milburn drew his chair up to me and said he didn't want me to say anything 
to the other guards about his going up stairs on that occasion, that it was a 
privilege he had. I told him I had already mentioned it to some of the other 
guards. He said he was sorry, but that it was no matter, it was a privilege he 
had. The same day another colored man came there, went into the room where 
Milburn was; and I saw Milburn directly afterwards having a one hundred 
dollar note in his hand. I remarked in joke to the others, " boys we are going 
to get a part of that." 

Question. Did Milburn ever tell you the source from which the SlOO came ? 

AnsAver. No. 

Question. Was Thompson there the next day ? 

Answer. No. 

Question. What is Colonel Thompson's fall name? 

Answer. Michael Thompson. 

Question. Have prisoners at any time expressed a desire to be taken out to 
go into the army ? 

Answer. A great many of them have. 

Question. Have they ever sent letters or word to any parties to come and 
take them out ? 

Answer. I do not know that they have ; I never took or sent any such word. 
They have often begged me to get some one to come and take them out, or to 
take them out myself and put them in the army. 

Question. Do you know the crimes for which the men so taken out have been 
committed ? 

Answer. Various charges. 

Question. What would be some of the extreme cases 1 

Answer. This Jackson case, I believe, was the hardest one that I know of. 

Question. Do you know anything in regard to Milburn's knowledge of Jack- 
son's being in the service at the time he was taken out ? 

Answer. I do not see how he could help knowing it. 

Question. Were you present at the conversation referred to by Duval ? 

Answer. I was ; I was standing at the outer door ; Milburn was not further 
off from Jackson than across this table, and between Jackson and the lieuten- 
ant. Jackson spoke louder than I am speaking now. 

Question. Was anything said about his being a deserter? 

Answer, No ; the lieutenant asked him some fjuestion, to which Jackson re- 
plied that he had enlisted or volunteered in the service some time last August ; 
that his name was not Jackson, but George Johnson. 

Question. Was Jackson in citizen's clothes when brought to the jail ? 

Answer. Yes. 

Question. And nothing was said about his being a deserter? 

Answer. Nothing that I heard. 

Thursday, February 23, 18G3. 
Hubert Waters called, sworn and examined. 

Question. Do you reside in the city of Washington ? 
Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. What is you occupation ? 
Answer. I am a guard at the jail. 
Question. How long have you been there ? 
Answer. Ever since Pierce came in. 

Question. Do you know whether for two or three years past there has been 
a habit prevailing of taking criminals or persons charged with crime, held for 



20 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

trial, or convicted, out of the jail for the purpose of putting them into the mili- 
tary service of the United States, as substitutes for other parties ? 

Answer. I know they have been taken out of the jail; I did not go to see 
them mustered in. I supposed that was what they were taken out for. 

(j),uestion. How long has that practice prevailed ? 

Answer. I suppose it has been going now on for a year or eighteen months. 

(Question. Was it practiced before the present warden came into office. 

Answer. I do not know whether it was or not. 

Question. Since the present warden came into chai-ge of the jail have there 
been many cases of the kind ? 

Answer. Yes ; I think there have been a great many. I have not kept any 
account, but I suppose as many as sixty or seventy. 

Question. Do you know whether any persons, officers of the jail, have re- 
ceived compensation from parties outside, for aid rendered in securing substi- 
tutes from the prison ? 

Answei". Mr. Beveridge took some men out from there, and 1 have received 
small sums from him. 1 do not not know what for. I never made any bargains 
with him. He would pay it may be a dollar apiece, as I supposed, for my ser- 
vices in running backwards and forwai'ds for him. 

Question. Do you know of money paid by Beveridge to other parties? 

Answer. I have seen him give money to the other guards in the same way 
that he did to me. They asked no questions. 

Question. Do you know Mr. Milburn, the deputy warden ? 

Answer. I do. 

Question. Do you know anything about his going into the jail -it night, or 
allowing other persons to go into the jail at night in violation of the ruh.'s of the 
prison, for the purpose of procuring substitutes. 

Answer. I Avill tell you what I know about it. It is a rule Avith us, wiicn the 
prison is shut up, not to allow any one to go in unless on some very particular 
occasion. In going away from there one evening, I met a barouche with three 
colored men in it. Milburn and Bell were at the jail. I was with a soldier who 
had been discliarged by the grand jury, and who was intoxicated; he wanted 
me to go with him and drink. To get rid of him as much as anything, I turned and 
went back to the jail. "When I got there one of these colored men was in there 
and came out. I went away again, and when I came back again Mr. Milburn 
had gone up stairs with the colored man, and lawyer Thompson. After a while 
they came down stairs and went out. I had no conversation with them what- 
ever. 

Question. Do you know of the payment of any money to Milburn in con- 
nexion with this transaction, for the privilege of going up stairs on that occa- 
sion ? 

Answer. I only know what Bell said. It was four or fixQ days after this trans- 
action, while 1 was very busy in letting some prisoners out to go to court, I 
saw a yellow man standing in the door. He asked me for Mr. Milburn. I told 
him ]\ir. Milburn would be back directly. When ]Mr. jMilburn returned, the 
colored man handed him a bank note, which JMr. 3Lilburn opened, and I saw 
that it was one hundred dollars. He did not make any concealment about it, 
but dis])layed it before us all. We spoke of it, and supposed from what had 
passed that we were going to get five dollars or ten dollars, but did not 

Question. Did you ever hear Milburn state from what Si;urce that money 
camel 

Answer. No, sir. 

Question. Was anything said to you about concealing the fact that Milburn 
had received this money ? 
Answer. Not to me ; no, sir. 
Question. Did you see this money paid to ililburn? 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 21 

Answer. I saw the man put the note in his hand, and I saw him open it. 

Question. Who was the man that handed him this money ? 

Answer. I do not know the man, and do not know that I would reco;5aize 
him if I were to see him. 

Question. Do you know whether he was one of the parties who were there 
when Thompson came the night you mention ? 

Answer. I am under the impression it was the same man v/ho did uot come 
in, but sat in the barouche. 

Question. Did you hear Thompson say anything that night? 

Answer. Not a word, except to speak familiarly to me, as he ahvays does 
when I meet him. 

Question. Do you know of Mr. Beale having received any money at any 
time, in connexion with this substitute business ? 

Answer. No, sir. 

Question. Did you, by the direction of Beale, go with any parties into the 
jail for the purpose of allowing them to consult with prisoners in relation to go- 
ing to the army 1 

Answer. I did once ; I was asked to go there with ^Ir. Beveridge. Bell was 
not there. One of the guards asked if Beveridge Avas allowed to go up without 
being accompanied by a guard. Ile^ said he wanted me to go with him, which 
I did. That is the only time. 

Question. Do you know anything in relation to the removal of Jackson from 
the jail ? 

Answer. I do nnt. I know that he was there, and that he was taken away. 

Question. Do you know anything about his antecedents ? 

Answer. No. 

Question. Do you know anything about his subsequent history? 

Answer. No ; I only know that he was in there, and was let out. 

Question. Have you been told by Milburn, at any time, that Jackson had 
been in the service of the United States ? 

Answer. No ; I only know that I was told by ^Milburn that he had received 
$325 for Jackson. 

George Parker called, sworn, and examined: 

Question. Where do you reside ? 

Answer. In this city. 

Question. Are you a merchant ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Have you been in busin.'ss in this city for some time ? 

Answer. Yes, from my boyhood. 

Question. Have you, within the last yeai", had any cases of fraud in the pur- 
chase of goods ? 

Answer. Some months since, a black man, whose name I do not remember, 
came to our store with a pass-book and purchased goods for a captain of the 
navy, as he represented, to the amount of $90. He had been in the habit 
of coming with the ciptain, and we supposed came for him. We ascertained 
that the captain had left the city, and that the man had obtained the goods 
under Mse pretences. We had him arrested and put in jail, but a week or ten 
days after we learned that he had gone ; that he had been put on board a vessel 
as a naval substitute, and had gone. 

Question. Who was the information that he had gone under these circum- 
stances communicated by ? 

Answer. I think by a guard at the jail. 

Question. Is that the only instance you know of men being taken from jail 
and used as substitutes ? 

Answer. That is the only instance. 



22 I-:XLISTING CRIMINALS 



Friday, Fchruary, 24, 1S65. 

David K. Caritkh, called, sworn and examined : 

Question. Where do yon re.«idc and what is your profession ? 

Answer. In "Washington. I am the chief justice of the supreme court of the 
District of Columbia. 

Question. Do you know anything of the practice said to prevail in the Dis- 
trict of letting prisoners iii jail, on charge of crimes or felonies, to bail, with in- 
tent to offer them as substitutes for persons in the District of Columbia liable to 
draft, or for other persons, and of the connexion of any of the officers of the 
jail in procuring bail for said persons 1 

Answer. All I knov,- on the subject may be told in a very i'ew words. While 
I was holding a portion of Jiulge Fisher's term of the criminal court last sum- 
mer, I was M-aited upon by committees of the different wards of the city, and 
by many citizens, all looking after substitutes to fill the draft which was then 
pending. The object of their calling on me was to learn whether men for the pur- 
pose of substitutes could be found in orfurnished from the jail. I replied in answer 
to their inquiries, that I did not know who were in the jail, or the charges on 
what persons were confined, and that I should be willing to do whatever I 
could to aid them compatibly with public justice ; that nobody could be dis- 
charged from jail except by acquittal or upon bail. I uniformly said to such 
persons, as well as from the bench, that no man worthy of the penitentiary 
ought to, or Avith my consent should, be transferred to the army. That princi- 
ple has actuated my colleagues upon the bench, so tar as it has come to my 
knowledge. I felt then as I feel noAv, that an able-bodied man fit for the service 
and guilty of a trifling offence had better be in the army than in the jail. What 
transpired in the jail and among its officers I had no knowledge of, except from 
rumor. 

Question. Did you aid any persons in attaining substitutes from the jail? 

Answer. I may have given, and I think I did give, a letter to Mr. Beale, the 
warden, introducing a Mr. IMurphy to him, with reference to procuring a sub- 
stitute from the jail ; but with no idea or intent of being any party taken as a 
substitute who Avas guilty of any felony. 

Question. Did you take bail in any cases of persons committed for a!:d with 
a vieAv of being then used for substitutes ? 

AnsAver. I ne\'er took bail Avith any view or for the jnirpose of favoring the 
committees or any person Avho Avantcd a substitute. I have ncA'er taken bail 
Avhere a party ought not to haA'e been put on bail. I have taken bail where I 
kncAv it Avas the purpose of the party bailed to go into the military service. 

Question. Have you ever taken bail for this object in cases where parties 
Avere charged Avith felony ? 

AnsAver. I have not in any case Avhere 1 thought there Avas any proof of the 
charge, or Avhere, in my judgment, the party ought to be convicted. 

Question. Do you know of any officer of any court, or of any party connected 
Avith the jail in this city or District, Avho has directly or indirecth- received any 
compensation, pay, or remuneration, or gratuity for procuring or aiding in the 
procuring of substitntes from the jail ? 
Answer. I do not. 

Question. Do you knoAv of any persons convicted of any felony Avho haA'e 
been released or pardoned for the })nrpose of being used as substitutes ? 
AnsAA'er. I do not. 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. ZO 

John H. Johxson called, sworn and examined : 

I am a resident of Washington city, and have been for many years. I am a 
practicing attorney of the District courts, and also a justice of the peace. I 
liave been a justice of the peace for about seven years. 

Question. Do you know of parties confined in the city jail on charges for 
grand larceny, or other felonies, having been bailed out to be mustered into 
the military or naval service of the United States as substitutes for parties 
drafted, or liable to be drafted, for such service ? 

Answer. Not of my personal knowledge ; but it is the current general report 
that it has been done. 

Question. Do you know Benedict Milburn, deputy warden of the jail 1 

Answer. I do. 

Question. Did you ever have any conversation with him as to taking out any 
prisoners ; and if so, when, and under what circumstances, and what occurred 
between him and yourself? 

Answer. [ have. About four or five months ago, I met him in the public 
street, and he asked me if I knew that Mr. Beale, the warden, Avas engaged in 
the business of taking out prisoners charged with crime as substitutes for persons 
liable to draft. I said I only inferred the fact from a suggestion made to me by 
the warden, that if I had, at any time, occasion to commit a person to jail, he 
would like to be informed of the fact and of the character of the offence charged; 
and that Beale had said to me that some money might be made by obtaining 
such persons as substitutes in the army. Milburn stated that it was a nefarious 
or Avicked scheme to make money, and that it was corruption, and that he in- 
tended to expose it. This was the substance of Avhat occurred between Mr. 
Milburn and myself. 

Question. You have alluded to a conversation which occurred between your- 
self and Beale, and which you spoke of to Milburn. When and Avhere was that 
conversation, and what was said by Mr. Beale to youl 

Answer. This conversation was in the street car, between 11th and loth 
streets, while I was going to the War Department, and took place about mid- 
summer. Beal then asked me to give him information as to persons I should 
have occasion to commit, and the nature of the offence, and said that money 
might be made by obtaining them as substitutes, or words to that effect. 

Question. What Avas your reply? 

Answer. I answered that I committed very few persons, and that I did not 
think I could serve him in that matter. This may not haA^e been my precise 
language, but its substance. I never had any further conversation with him on 
the subject. At this time everybody Avas looking for substitutes, and I did not 
think that Mr. Beal Avas actuated by any improper motive — I thought he Avanted 
to help fill our quota. 

Michael Thompson called, SAvorn and examined : 

Question. Where do you reside? 

AnsAver. 1 reside in Washington, and am a lawyer by profession. 

Question. How long have you resided here ? 

AnsAver. Since 1848 or 1849. 

Question. Do you knoAv anything of the practice Avhich is alleged to have 
prevailed in the District of taking persons from the jail Avho have been charged 
with crimes, and letting them to bail for the purpose of using them as substitutes 
in the military serA'ice? if so, state Avhat you know. 

Answer. I cannot state that 1 know personally of any general practice on the 
subject, but I can state something of an indiA'idual instance. 

Question. Will you state it, mentioning time, place, and circumstances, and 
the persons connected therewith ? 



24 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

Answer. It was sonic time last fall. I Avas called upon by a colored man by 
the name of William Lcary, who requested me to accompany him to the jail to 
see a colored man by the name of Simmons, I think. I went with him to the 
jail in a carriage, and I think there was another colored man by the name of 
Charles Marshal in the carriage. We arrived at the jail about sundown. We 
found Mr. Benedict Milburn there. I told him I had come there for the purpose 
of seeing a prisoner by the name of Simmons, but I don't think I told him the 
purpose for which I wanted to see him. Leary had told me that he wanted to 
get Simmons out, and if he could, he thought he could get him to go as a sub- 
stitute. He wanted my professional aid in getting him out. 1 told Milburn 
that I Avanted to see Simmons. He replied that it Avas too late for that day, 
that the prisoners AA^ere locked up, and that under the rule no person could be 
permitted to see the prisoners at that hour, and suggested to me to call the next 
day if I AA'ished to sec him. I then urged him to relax the rule in my favor. I 
told him that similar courtesies had been extended to me before, and that I could 
not conveniently call next day. He finally yielded to my request, and I went 
up to see Simmons together Avith Milburn. As avc started, Leary asked to go 
also, and see the prisoner, to Avliich Milburn objected. Leary made an appeal 
to Milburn, and finally, at my solicitation and Leary's, he permitted him to go. 
We Avent to the cell. I asked Simmons, and also Leary asked him, if he Avanted 
to go into the service. He said he Avas willing to go as a substitute if he could 
be got out. 

Question. What was the charge against Simmons — was it grand larceny? 

AnsAver. I iuA'^estigated the charge, and thought the same Avas not Avell 
founded. I went to the justice (Boswell) Avho committed him, and on talking 
Avith him, thought the case Avould not A\'arrant his detention. I heard no promise 
on the part of Lcary to pay William for letting him up. Leary is a truthful man, 
and lives in this city ; his given name is William. The next day I had Simmons 
brought into court before Judge Cartter ; I think it Avas the next day. I stated 
the case to Judge (J.; said I had seen the prosecution and some of the Avitncsses, 
and that I did not think it was a case of larceny — that avc Avanted to give bail. 
I think Avhen I tendered bail it Avas in open court, and that Judge Cartter 
asked the man I tendered as bail Avhat interest he had in the matter and Avhy it 
Avas he Avent bail. I do not recollect precisely Avhat his answer Avas, but it was 
such I think as to satisfy Judge Cartter, or induce him to believe that he Avas 
interested in getting him out for the purpose of making him a substitute. If I 
recollect right Judge Cartter spoke to Simmons; that he called him up in the 
court room and asked him if he kncAv that he could get $300 bounty. Very 
soon somebody, I think this man Long, placed $300 in my hands in open court, 
Avith the understanding that it should be paid to this Simmons in case he should 
be released by the court and accepted as a substitute for somebody Avhose name 
Avas given ; I think his name was Heed. 

Question. Was Heed present in court? 

AnsAver. I do not recollect about that ; there Avas some man in the court room 
Avho said he Avanted this boy for his brother or brother-in laAv. It A\^as stated 
openly, there was no secret about it. As soon as I received the money I Avent up 
to the judge and said that $300 had been placed in my hands to be given this 
boy in case he Avas accepted as a substitute, and that Ave Avere prepared to give 
good and sufficient bail. I think the judge said, "well bring up your bail, and 
I Avill hold you responsible that the boy gets his $300 ;" said I, "Judge, I do not 
like to be responsible for that, 1 do not Avant to hold this money, I Avould prefer 
to turn it over to the court or to the marshal." I said, "Here is Deputy Marshal 
Phillips, I Avill turn it over to him," and I did pay it to George W. Phillips, 
Avith the understanding that it should be turned over to the boy. 

Question. Hoav high Avas the bail ])laced? 

AnsAver. I forget, it Avas ample bail. 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 25 

Question. Was it less than $300? 

Answer. I really do not remember what it was. 

Q,uestiou. "Was the court in the habit of making thj bail lower in these cases 
of substitutes ? 

Answer. I cannot say that I ever saw the court receive what I avouIcI regard 
as insufEcient bail upon any consideration or for any purpose. I know I have 
tried frequently to get bail down lower than the judges were willing to make it. 

Question, You acted as counsel for Long, did you not ? 

Answer. My object was to get this boy out. Long paid me a fee. It is not 
unfrequent that a person Avill come to me and state that he has a friend in jail, 
for whom he wishes ine to act as counsel ; but I did not wish to appear in court 
without first seeing the prisoner, to know whether it met his approval or not. 
I think it is but justice to Judge Cartter to say that he was determined to pre- 
vent, as far as he could, any speculation in the way of substitute-brokerage, by 
requiring me to see that the boy got his S300, and that the brokers did not 
get it. 

Question. Do you know how much this man paid Long for procuring a sub- 
stitute ? 

Answer. I do not, of my own personal knowledge. Long told me that he got 
$400 or $450 ; but he will tell you about that, and what he did with the money, 
if you call him before you. 

E. J. MiDDLETON called, sworn, and examined : 

Question. What occupation is yours ? 

Answer. I am deputy clerk of the supreme court of the District of Columbia. 

Question. Do you, as such deputy, take bail bonds Avhich are given by parties ? 

Answer. We take bonds which are sent up by magistrates, and take recog- 
nizances in open court. 

Question. Do you keep a record of these bonds ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Have you that record here ? 

Answer. Yes, sir. 

Question. Can you state what bond was given in the case of W. A. Jackson,. 
early in October, 1864? 

Answer. Benedict Milburn was the bail in that case, in the sum of $500. 

Question. Have you any knowledge of the number of persons who were 
bailed in your court, for the purpose of being offered as substitutes in the army, 
between the 11th of April and the present time? 

Answer. I have no idea; I could not tell for what purpose the bail was given. 
Citizens usually come from the jail with a slip of paper, stating what the offence 
is, which is handed to me, and the amount of the bail fixed. 

Question. Do you know whether 3Ir. Milburn paid the bond, or what was 
the result in the case of Jackson? 

Answer. I can ascertain by reference to my book. 

Saturday, Fchntury 25, 1S65. 
George P. Fisher called, sworn, and examined. 
Question. Where do you reside ? 

Answer. I reside in Washington county, near Fort Bunker Hill. 
Question. What is your profession ? 

Answer. I amoneof the justicesof thesupreme court of the Districtof Columbia. 
Question. Is that a court of criminal jurisdiction? 

Answer. Yes, sir; it has the entire jurisdiction, criminal and civil, of the Uni- 
ted States in the District of Columbia. 

Question. Do you know anything of the removal of prisoners confined on 



26 ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 

charge of crime, from the jail for the purpo.se of being used as substitutes in the 
military and naval service of the United States within the last year ? 

Answer. I cannot say that I know anything in respect to their going into the 
service of the United States. 

Question. State what you know, if anything, upon the subject within the year 
past. 

Answer. I think about a year ago there was a great pressure made about the 
draft in this District, and applications were made to the various judges of the 
court to let men go from the jail. My reply, I think, was that we had no power 
to discharge the jail in that way, but that wherever a man was imprisoned upon 
a charge of minor character, such as assault and battery or some offence of petty 
grade, that upon examining into the case, if we found it was consistent with pub- 
lic policy, we would let the man go upon his own recognizance ; that I would do 
so in proper cases ; I think a few prisoners went that way ; the military would 
sometimes ask for them. A good many of them would be discharged soldiers 
who would get drunk and steal some little thing, as a hat, an old coat, or a pair 
of shoes. They would be glad enough to get into the army, and I thought they 
had better be there than in jail. There Avere a few cases of that sort, perhaps half 
a dozen. On several occasions also, persons applied to me to release men to be- 
come substitutes for them. I told them I had no power to do that ; there was 
only one way to get men out who were in prison for crime. If they were bailed 
out the bail could keep them Avherever he pleased, and if he chose to put them 
into the army, that was something I had no control over. 

Question. Have you any idea of the number of persons who were bailed out, 
as you were informed or believe, for the purpose of going into the army 1 

Answer. I have no idea, because after giving that information they would 
leave me, and I would lose sight of the case. 

Question. Do you know anything of the case of William G. A. Jackson, who 
was indicted for grand larceny? 

Answer. I do not ; but of the twenty-four or twenty-five hundred cases since 
I have been on the bench, I suppose I have tried fifteen or eighteen hundred 
and unless there is something very peculiar, I could not recall it. 

Question. It has been said here that letters were received by the Avarden and 
deputy warden from the judges of the court in regard to taking prisoners out 
as substitutes ; have you any recollection upon that subject ! 

Answer. I have not; I do not recollect writing. It may be that I have writ- 
ten a letter for somebody Avho came to me and said that he would like to get a 
substitute, but must have a pei-mit to get into the jail ; I have no recollection 
upon the subject. 

Question. In instances where these persons were let out on bail when the 
cases were called in court afterwards, what disposition was generally made of 
them ? 

Answer. You will see by the list of cases, which I believe Mr. Middleton has 
furnished, that they were nearly all dismissed by the grand jury. I, perhaps, 
ought to make this general observation, that in the condition the District now 
is, with all sorts of people from every part of the country, the jail is filled. A 
great many cases are dismissed by the grand jury, cases where there is no evi- 
dence and the parties ought not to have gone to jail at all. Quite a number of 
cases also have been nol/c j'rosscd by the district attorney. 

Question. In cases where persons were taken out on bail and used as substi- 
tutes in the army and consequently did net make their appearance in court, 
they could not be tried, could they ? 

Answer. No. I think there was some conversation between the district 
attorney and myself on that subject. He asked me — I do not know whether 
he talked with any of the other judges or not — what I would do in such cases. 
I had a great deal of experience in the ci-iminal business as attorney general in 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 27 

the State ■where I was born, and I told liim that I would in every case, where 
I was satisfied that the offence was one of trifling magnitude, allow the man to 
be enlisted. I thought it was better for such a man to serve his country in the 
army than to be iii the penitentiary ; that in such a case I would enter a nolle 
'prosciiui, but if the case was one of magnitude I would let it stand and try him 
whenever I cuuld find him. 

Question. Have you any knowledge of any oflicers connected with the court 
or with the jail in any way, who have afforded facilities for getting substitutes 
out of jail for a consideration ? 

Answer. No, sir ,1 have not the slightest knowledge on that subject. I know 
that last summer or fall, I heard a gentleman say he had got a substitute from 
the jail — some Virginian v/ho was not liable to enrolment, who had been guilty 
of assault and battery on some petty offence — that he got him for a very small 
sum but did not know how to use him ; that he paid somebody $10 to work 
the matter through the provost marshal's office and $5 for hack hire, making 
the entire cost $115. That is all I know about it. I might say farther, that 
I know the deputy marshal had a bailiff", of the name cf Colclazer, that he dis- 
charged Colclazer because he caught him in something of this sort. He has 
been very rigid in trying to find out matters of this sort. 

Question. What is the name of the deputy marshal ? 

Answer. George W. Phillips, a most excellent, worthy man. He has been 
in that place a great many years. He is so strict about it that it is pretty hard 
now to get bail since he has learned there are rumors about these things. 

E. J. MiDDLETOi\ recalled and examined. 

Question. Have you examined your docket to ascertain the number of 
prisoners who have been bailed by Mr. Beveridge ? 

Answer. Yes. 

Question. Have you also ascertained what persons were bailed by Mr. Mil- 
burn ? 

Answer. I have. I have made a list of the cases from March, 1SG4, till the 
end of December followiiig, in which I have also incorporated the disposition of 
prisoners made in these cases. 

Question. Is this a statement of the facts as they appear on the docket of 
the court, and, to the best of your knowledge and belief, do you believe it to be 
true ? 

Answer. It is, and I believe it to be true. 

The following is the statement referred to: 

Offick uf the Clerk of the Supre.me Court of the Dls't uf Columbia, 

Washington, Fehniary 26, 1S65. 

In pursuance of the request of the Committee of the District of Columbia, I 
have the honor to submit the following statement of cases in which Benjamin 
L. Beveridge became surety, beginning with the March term, 1864, viz : March 
7, 1864, and ending with the close of December term 1864, viz : February 8, 
1SG5, as follows, viz : 

1. Henry Jones, no bill found by the grand jury. 

2. James L. Jones, indicted and nolJ e prosequi entered by district attorney. 

3. Thomas Johnson, indicttd in two cases, acquitted in one, and nolle frose- 
qtd entered in the other. 

4. Alpheus Johnson, no bill found by the grand jury. 

5. Andrew W. Bear, indicted, not yet tried. 

6. Elijah Alsop, no bill found by the grand jury. 

7. Paul Jones, do. do. 

8. Daniel Chase, do. do. 



ENLISTING 


CRIMINALS. 


ill found by 


the rrrand iiir 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 


do. 



28 



10. Win. O. Il.Brunges 

11. John IMurling, 

12. Alfred Smith, 

13. Babe Alexander, 

14. Wesley Burch, 

15. Henry Smith, 
IG James Reed, indicted, not yet tried. 

17. James Thomas, no bill foxind by the grand jnry, 
IS. William Anderson, do. do, 

19. Benjamin General, do. do. 

20. AVilliam H. Light, indicted and convicted, 

21. Henry King, surrendered by his 3urety — no bill found. 

22. Francis M'Laughlin, do. do. 

23. Richard O'Conner, no bill found by the grand jury. 

I also have the honor to state, that during the same period Banedict Milburn 
entered bail for but one person, namely, Wm. G. A. Jackson, in which case a 
bill was found by the grand jury, and a ?ione 2-''oscqi(i entered by the district 
attorney on the 6th of December, 1864. 

I find by the record that one Paul Simmons was bailed by one Edward 
Towers, was afterwards indicted, and a nolle jirosequl entered in his case; that 
one Wm. A. Simmons was released on his own recognizance, and no bill found 
in his case; and also, that one John E. Simmons was indicted, and afterwards 
released on his own recognizance. 

All of which is respectfully submitted, 

E. J. MIDDLETON, Dejmty Cleric. 

I find, on reference to a docket of recognizances, taken in the recess of the 
court, that licnjamin L. Beveridge was bail in the following cases, in addition 
to those stated on the preceding page, viz : 

AVilliam H. PI. Dorsey, indicted, not yet tried. 

George AV. Seals, indicted, convicted, and recommended by the jury, and a 
nolle prosequi entered. 

Edmund Courtney, indicted in two cases, convicted in one, and a nolle prosequi ' 
entered afterwards in both cases. 

AVm. Anderson, no bill found by the grand jury. 
Respectfully, 

E. J. MIDDLETOX. 

A. C. Richards called, sworn, and examined. 

Question. AVhat is your occupation 1 

Answer. I am superintendent of the Metropolitan police force. 

Question. Do you know anything of a man by the name of AVm. G. A. 
Jackson 1 

Answer. I only know him by the records we keep in the office, and by the 
reputation he has among our detectives and officers of the force. 

Question. AVill you state what your records show in respect to him ? 

Answer. I find here, under date of July 15, 1S64, a description of this man 
as h;iving been arrested for grand larceny and as having given security for 
court. The articles amounted in value to about $30, and were claimed by Annie 
M. Steele. 

Question. AA'^hat became of the case in court ? 

Answer. I do not know. 

Question. AVhat is the next entry you have against Jackson ? 

Answer. The next is under date of September 14, 1864, from which it ap- 
pears that AA^'m. G. A. Jackson, a notorious thief, arrested on the 17th of 



ENLISTING CRIMINALS. 29 

Augut^t, and charged with grand larceny, made his escape from tlie headquarters 
of the police office. He was arrested on the charge of robbing the house of 
John Maddigan of S'550, and a watch valued at $75. Four hundred and forty 
dollars were found in his possession and a gold watch. He was committed to 
court by Justice Boswell. 

Question. Have you any other entry or complaint against him ? 

A. It appears, under date of November 27, Second Lieutenant Isaac Pierson, 
of Alexandria, that two soldiers, one by the name of W. Gr. A. Jackson, well 
known to the detective force, robbed the quartermaster's safe of prisoners' 
money amounting to 81,100. He is still at large as a deserter, as I understand. 

John A. Clarvoe called, sworn and examined : 

Question. State your position? 

Answer. I am a detective in the Metropolitan police force. 

Question. State what you know, if anything, in respect to arrests being made 
of W. G. A. Jackson 1 

Answer. I arrested Jackson on the 16th or 17th of July, for the larceny of 
jewelry from one Annie Steele, who kept a liouse of prostitution, and also for 
the larceny of $13 50 from Henry Aiken, a soldier In one of the New York 
regiments. He gave as bail, in the case of the larceny, Edmoud Monroe, his 
partner. Then, about the 15tli of August, there was complaint made at the 
office, by Monroe, his partner, of being robbed of a watch, and, I think, ,50 odd 
dollars. I arrested Jackson on that again, and he was committed to jail for farther 
hearing. I brought him out for examination, and he made his escape through a 
window in the otifice. The next I heard of him Avas of his robbing John Mad- 
digan of $5 50 and a gold watch. I was called off in some important case, and 
saw him with the passengers on 7th street wharf. I arrested him, but found 
he was already under arrest by one of our officers. The next I saw of him 
he came to the office inquiring for a pistol, v/hich was taken from him when lie 
was arrested. He had soldier clothes on, and said he had been taken out of 
jail and belonged to the 2d District regiment. The next I heard of him, a 
man came from Alexandria, and said he would give me $1,000 to catch him ; 
that he had robbed a safe at the prison in xVlexandria containing all the pri- 
soners' money. I have never heard from liim since. He was in company at 
the time he robbed the safe with a man by the name of George Josephs. 

Question. When v/as it that he appeared at your office and inquired for the 
pistol 1 

Answer. That was after he was arrested for the robbery of Maddigan, and 
just a few days before the report of the robbery in Alexandria. I remarked, 
when I heard of the robbery, that I should not be surprised if it turned out to 
be Jackson ; that we must look out for him; and just then a man came into the 
ofEce and said it was Jackson. 

Question. Do you know anything about the circumstances of his being re- 
moved from jail 1 

Answer. I do not; I have had several cases of burglary and garroting that 
never came to court, and I have always found the men were made soldiers of. 
There was a man by the name of Dorsey, arrested for enticing a man into an- 
other man's house, drugging him, and stealing his clothes and money. I found 
the man the next night, and the gentleman who had been garroted recognized 
the clothes and proved beyond a doubt the guilt of this party. One of the 
parties acknowledged it. I saw him in jail afterwards, and that is the last I 
have heard of him. 

Question. Do you know that he went into the army ? 

Answer. I was told that he did. 

Question. Do you know that Jackson had been in the army previous to his 
arrest 1 

Answer. He said that he never had been a soldier, and never Avould be. Most 



30 ENLISTING ClilMIXALS. 

of these " snakt^ tliieve.<," .'IS W(i call tlicni, those who go into halls and steal 
overcoats, &c., turn out to be bounty-jumpers. I asked Jackson, when he came 
to the oliice in soldier clothes, how he caine to be a soldier. He said it was bet- 
ter to be a soldier than to be in the "hop" — meaning the penitentiary. I re- 
minded him of what he had said befon;, that he never would be a soldier; he 
said that circumstances altered cases. 

Question. Did he say anything about the i)ay that he had received? 

Answer. He did ; and stated the circumstances, but I do not recollect. 

Question. Do you know whether Milburn knew Jackson before the time of 
his being taken out, and knew of the crimes he had been charged with ? 

Answer. He certainly must have known, as the man had been in jail twice 
before. 

Question. Had you any conversation with ^lilburn in reference to the escape 
of Jackson you have mentioned 1 

Answer. No ; he was carried to the head(|uarters of the metropolitan police, 
and made his escape through a back window of the office. I do not know 
whether the fact came to Mr. Milburn's knowledge or not. 

Fecriiarv 27, 18Go. 
Examination resumed. 

Robert Bbalb, recalled : 

Question. What proportion of the parties taken out of jail were black per- 
sons ? 

Answer. I think about half 

Question. Do you know whether your son, Il()bert j\[. Beale, had any con- 
nexion with Bcvcridge in the business of procuring substitutes? 

Answer. I do not. I never heard of it. He is a lawyer, and likely may have 
rendered some professional service to Beveridge. 

Question. Do you know a lawyer here by the name of John H. Johnson ? 

Answer. I do. 

Question. Did you ever hold any conversation with Johnson on the subject 
of applying for prisoners as substitutes, as a means of making money? 

Answer. I do not recollect that I ever did. I once said to Johnson that I 
wish the substitutes could be taken before they got into jail, but I never made 
any suggestion to him about taking them out with the expectation of making, 
or with the wish to make, one cent of money for myself 



41st CoxaRESS, ( HOUSE OF REPEESE:N^TATIVES. ( Eeport 
2(1 /Session. S \ No. 59. 



3IETROrOLITA]S[ POLICE. 



ArraL l'). 1870. — Ordered to lie printed. 



Mr. Williams, from the Committee for the District of Cohimbia, made 

the following 

EEPORT. 

The Committee for the JDistriet of Cohimhia, to whom were referred Rouse 
resolutions instructing them to malce inquiry as to the payment of the Met- 
ropolitan Folice of the city of Washington, respectfully report: 

That they have made inquiry touching the subject embraced in said 
resolutions, and find that owing to the delay in making ont the new 
tax-books during the last half year, said police were not regularly paid, 
but as soon as collections were made, said police force were iiromptly 
paid, and at this time there are no balances due to said force, and that 
hereafter no delay in the payment of their salaries will occur ; and said 
committee ask to be discharged from further consideration of the 
subject. 



41st Congkess, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. i Report 
3d Session. J ( No. 35. 



GOVERNMENT EOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Febhuauy 15, 1871. — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Cook, from the coiuniittee of conference on the part of the House, 

made the following 

REPORT. 

[To accompauj' bill S. No. 594.] 

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on 
the amendments of the House of Representatives to the bill ( S. 594^) to 
provide a government for the District of Columbia, having met, after 
full and free conference, have agreed to recommend, and do recommend, 
to their respective Houses as follows': 

That the Senate recede from its vote of non-concurrence and agree 
to the amendment proposed by the House of Representatives, with the 
following amendments, to wit: 

In section 1, line 0, after the word "Columbia," insert " by which 
name it is hereby constituted a body corporate for municipal purposes, 
and may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and 
be impleaded, have a seal, and exercise all other powers of a municipal 
corporation not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the- 
United States and tlie provisions of this act." 

In section 2, line 1, strike out the word "reside," and in lieu thereof 
insert the words " shall have resided." In line 8, in the same section,., 
after the word " district," insert the words "twelve months before his 
appointment." 

In section 3, line 12, after the word " reconsidered," strike out the 
word "and." 

In section 4, line 23, after the word " the," strike out the word 
"officers," and in lieu thereof insert the word "offices." 

In sect^ion 5, line 5, after the word " members," insert " of whom two 
shall be residents of the city of Georgetown, and two residents of the 
county outside of the cities of Washington and Georgetown." 

In the same section, line 18, strike out the words " qualified voters," 
and substitute in jdace thereof the word " population." 

In the same section strike out all after the word " respectively," in. 
line 21, as far as and including the word " that," line 30, and in i)lace 
thereof insert: "For the purposes of the first election to be held under 
this a(;t, the governor and judges of the supreme court of the District 
of Columbia shall designate the districts for members of the house of 
delegates, appoint a board of registration, and persons to superintend 
the election and the returns thereof, prescribe the time, places, and 
manner of conducting such election, and make all needful rules and 
regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this act not other- 
wise herein provided for: Provided, That the first election shall be held 



2 GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

witliin sixty days from the passage of tliis act. In the first and all sub- 
sequont elections the three i)ersons havinj>- the highest number of legal 
votes for the house of delegates, ies]»ectively, sliall be declared by the 
governor duly elected members of said house." 
After section 5 insert, as a new section : 

'■'• And he it further crmcicd^ Tliat the legislative assembly shall have 
j)0wer to divide that portion of the District not included in the (;ori)or- 
ate limits of Washington and Georgetown into townships, not exceed- 
ing three, and create township officers, and prescribe the duties thereof; 
but all township otticers shall be elected by the people of the townshij)s 
respectively." 

In section 0, line 3, strike out the word " twelve," and substitute in 
lieu thereof the word " three." 

In line 4 of said section 6 strike out the words "first election," and 
substitute in place thereof, " passage of this act." 

In line 8 of the same section strike out the words " prior to," and 
substitute in place thereof, " immediately preceding." 

In line 9 of the sauu^ section, after the word " District," insert " and 
for all subseipient elections twelve months' prior residence shall b«; 
required to constitute a voter." 

In section 7, line 5, after the word "over," insert "upon final judg- 
ment duly recovered." 

In section 9, line 20, strike out \\\e, word "provided," and substitute 
in lieu thereof the word " punished." 

In section 13, line 7, after the word "elected," insert "or appointed," 
and after the word " house," insert "as herein provided." In line 11) of 
the same section, after the word "law," insert "in at least two news- 
papers in the District." 

In line 21 of the same section, strike out the words " at the time," and 
substitute in lieu thereof "in the act." 

In section 1(5, line 2, strike out the words "local or." 
In section 21, line 10, after the word " other," add " nor shall said 
cities, or either of them, be taxed for the exclusive benefit of the county 
outside of the limits tliereof: Provided, That the legislative assembly 
may make a])propriations for the repair of roads, or for the construction 
or Vejiair of bridges outside the limits of said cities." 

Striktt out all of section 21, after the word " District," in line 7 of said 
section. 

After section 24, insert as a new section : 

"vine/ be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the Pres- 
ident of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of tiie 
Senate, a board of health for said District, to consist of five persons, 
whose duty it shall be to declare what shall be deemed nuisances inju- 
rious to health, and to provide for the removal thereot; to make and 
enforce regulations to i)revent domestic animals from running at large 
in the cities of Washington and (ieorgetown ; to prevent the sale ot 
unwholesome food in said cities; and to ])eribrm such other duties as 
shall be im])Osed upon said board by the legislative assembly." 

In section 2."), alter the word "of," iti line 2, insert "legister of wills, 
recorder of deeds." 

At the end of section 20 add the following proviso: '■'■ Trovided, That 
the powers of corporations so created shall be limited to the District of 
Columbia." 

In section 29, line 2, strikeout the words " police judge or judges," and 
substitute in place thereof " other otticers." In tJie same section, after 
the words "take," in line 4, insert the words "and subscribe," and after 



GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 3 

the word "take," in line 16, insert the words "and subscribe," and in 
line L'3, after the word "taken," insert the words "and subscribed," 

In section 32, after the word "Columbia," in line 4, insert "and shall 
have the qualifications of a voter," and in line 9 of the same section, 
after the word " representatives," insert " and shall also be a member 
of the Conimittee for the District of Columbia." 

Strike out all of section 34. 

In section 35, strike out from the word "all," in line 2, to the word 
"belonoiiig," in line 3, and substitute in place thereof the words "real 
estate." Strike out all of line a and line G in said section 'Sry, as far and 
inckuling- the word " schedules," and insert "and the grounds which have 
been dedicated to the public parks and squares." 

In line G of the same section strikeout the word "two," and substitute 
in lieu thereof the word "five." In the same section strike out all after 
the word "taken," in line 10, as far as and including the word "afore- 
said," in line 12, and insert "and the aggregate of the valuation of 
private property in said District, whenever nuide by the authority of 
the legislative assembly, shall be reported to Congress by the governor." 

Strike out all of section 35 after the word "appoint," in line 15, and 
substitute in place thereof "and under such regulations as he shall pre- 
scribe." 

Strike out all of section 36. 

In section 37, strike out the word "two" in line 3, and substitute in 
place thereof the word "four." 

Strike out all after the word " therein," in line 8, as far as and includ- 
ing tlie " President," in line 12, and in place thereof insert " one of said 
board shall be a citizen and resident of Georgetown, and one of said 
board shall be a citizen and resident of the county outside of the cities 
of Washington and Georgetown." 

In line 14, strike out the words "for misbehavior," and substitute in 
lieu thereof "by the President of the United States." 

In line 15, strike out the word " ordinances," and substitute in place 
thereof the word "regulations." 

In line 16, strike out the words "relating to," and substitute in j)lace 
thereof the words "for keeping in repair," and after the word "avenues," 
in the same line, insert the word "alleys," 

Inline 19, strike out the words " received and," and after the word 
"disburse" insert the words "upon their warrant." 

In line 20, after the words " United States," insert "in the District of 
Columbia," and after the words "property holders," insert the words 
"in pursuance of law." 

In line 21, after the word "avenues," insert the word " alleys," and 
after the word " sewers," insert " and roads and bridges." 

In line 22, strike out the words " and collect ;" also strike out the words 
" thi'y shall prescribe fiom," and substitute in place thereof the words 
" shall be prescribed by law upon." 

In line 23, strike out the words " owners of any;" also strike out the 
word " speedily," and substitute in place thereof the word " specially." 

In line 20, after the word "cost," insert " which sum shall be collected 
as all other taxes are collected." 

In line 29, after the word "assembly," insert "all contracts made by 
the said board of ])ublic works shall be in writing, and shall be signed 
by the parties making the same, and a copy thereof shall be filed in the 
office of the secretary of the District; and the said board of public 
works shall have no power to make contracts to bind said District to 
the payment of any sums of money, except in pursuance of appropria- 



4 GOVERNMENT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

tioiis made bv law, and not until such ai)i)ropiiations shall have been 
made. All eontiaets made by said board in which any member of said 
board shall be personally interested shall be void, and no payment shall 
be made thereon by said District, or any officers thereof." 

Alter the word ''District,-' Hne 20, section 40 add : "PrortV?6v/, That 
the charters of said cities severally, and the powers of said levy court, 
shall be continued for the foUowini-' purposes, to wit: For the collection 
of all sums of money due to said cities, respectively, or to said levy 
court; for the enforcement of all contracts made by said cities, respect- 
ively, or by said levy court ; and all taxes heretofore assessed remain- 
ing unpaid for the collection of all just claims against said cities, respect- 
ively, or against said levy court ; for the enforcement of all legal 
contracts against said cities, respectively, or against said levy court, 
until the affaii'i* of said cities, respectively, and of said levy court, shall 
have been fully closed ; and no suit in favor of or against said corpora- 
tions, or eitlier of them, shall abate by reason of the passage of this act, 
but tlie same shall be prosecuted to final judgment, as if this act had not 
been passed." 

Also add : 

" Section 41. And he it further enacted, That there shall be no election 
holden for mayor or members of the common council of the city of 
Georgetown prior to the first day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
one, but the present mayor and commou council of said city shall hold 
their offices until said first day of June next. No taxes for general pur- 
poses shall hereafter be assessed by the municipal authorities of the 
cities of Washington and Georgetown, or by said levy court. And upon 
the repeal of the charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, 
the District of Columbia be, and is hereby, declared to be the successor of 
said corporations, and all the property of said corporations, and of the 
county of Washington, shall become vested in the said District of Colum- 
bia. i^\ tines, i)enalties, costs, and forfeitu'res which are now by law made 
payable to said cities, respectiveh', or said levy court, shall be paid to 
said District of Columbia, and the salaries of the judge and clerk of the 
police court, the compensation of the deputy clerk and bailiff of said 
police court, and of the marshal of the District of Columbia shall be 
paid by said District : Provided, That the moneys collected upon the 
judgments of said police court, or so much thereof as may be necessary, 
shall be applied to the payment of the salaries of the judge and other offi- 
cers of said court, and to the payment of the necessary expenses thereof, 
and any snri)lus remaining after i)aying the salaries, compensations, and 
expenses aforesaid shall be ])aid into the treasury of the District at the 
end of every quarter." 

And the committee further recommend that the House agree to the 
amendments to the House amendment herein i)roposed. 

J. W \ PATTEKSON, 
H. HAINILIN, 
Managers on the part of the Senate. 
BUKTOX C.COOK, 
JNO. A. BINGHAM, 
D. W. YOOKHEES, 
Managers on the part of the House. 



4lST Congress, ) HOUSE OF KEPKESENTATIVES. i Report 
3d Session. ) ( Ko. 36. 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLU.MBIA. 

[To acfompiuiy H. R. No. 304S.] 



FEBKUA15Y 16, 1871. — Ordered to l)e printed. 



Mr. SruNE, from the Coiimiittee on the District of Coliiinbia, in;ide the 

following' 

HEPOllT. 

Ill obedience to the order of the House of liepresetitatices passed December 
15, 1870, ill the following icords : 

EesoU'cd, That He Committee for the District of f'oJumhia be iiistrncled to inquire whether 
the cJiurters of the Washington and Roekrille 'Vurnpike Compan;/ and the Columbia Tnrnpike 
Roads Company have not been forfeited b;/ idlful neglect and uon-complianee wiih the terms 
thereof, with leave to report bij bill or otherwise — 

the committee after (jirinrj due notice to thejjersons interested, tal-ing testi- 
mony, and hearing those interested, note respectfully report : 

That there are two tnrnpike roads leading ont of the city of Wash- 
ington against which complaints have leen made — one generally called 
the Bladeusburg tnrnpike road, whicii leads from tlie city limits toward 
the village of Bladensbarg, and the other generally called Seventh- 
street road, leading from the city limits towar<l Brookville, in Montgom- 
ery County, JNIaryland. 

Tlie first of tiiese roads was incorporated by act of CongTessi)assed 
April 20, 1810, {-2 Sfcat. at Large, page 570,) aiul was inteMed to 
connect, and did in fact connect with a tnrnpike road incor])orated by 
the State of ^Maryland, leading from the District line to the city of 
Baltimore. It is apparent that the only object of the incorporatioii of 
this road within the District was to establish a good road between the 
cities of Washington and Baltimore, this being before the establishment 
of railroads. It appears, however, that some years ago, and after the 
opening of the railroad between Baltimore and Washbigton, the turn- 
pike company incor{)orated by the State of Marylajid suffered their road 
in the State to become ont of the order required by tlieir charter, and 
upon complaint made, the State ordered legal proceedings against the 
company, and after years of litigation the charter was tinally declared 
torfcited by the courts of Maryland. This action of j^Iaryland left this 
turnpike within the Distiict, about two and a half miles long, leading 
IVom the city to the District line, standing a useless link of a broken 
cliain. As to the question whether this road has complied with its 
clmrter, we think there can be no doubt from the evidence brought 
before us. The chartcn- requires the road to be made and kept ''at least 
twenty-four feet in width of stone, gravel, or other hard substance of sutR- 
cient depth or thickness to secure a solid aiuliirm road." The evidence is 
conclusive and ovorwheliiung that this road has not complied with these 
requisites of its charter ; but, on the contrary, is at no time of the year 
in the order imperatively demanded as the condition of its corporate 
existence, and at some seasons is almost impassable, and this in the face 
of the fact that it i)ays large dividends, and is theref(u-e without a 



2 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

shadow (if »'.\cii«c Ibi- its condition. In i'act, tlie company lilies out the 
road to the toll-gathcier tor a thousan<l doHars a year for this two and 
a half u)i!es of road. With re.i;ard to the Seventh-street road the case 
is somewhat ditt'creiit. Jt connects with the Brookvillc turnpike road, 
leadin/x some twenty or more miles into Montj>omery (Jounty, and 
although the testimonj' shows the road is not in the condition re-iuired 
by the charter, yet it also ai)pears, from the testimony, that the com 
l»any have ai)plied the whole earnings upon the road, and have declared 
no dividends since 18(3(5. J>ut still the fact is very apparent from tlni 
whole of the testimony that the road does not come uj) to the re(|uire- 
raents of the charter. 

But Avhile your committee are clearly of the o])inion that these roads 
liave not complied with tlu' law of their creation, they are equally clear 
in their o])ini(»n that the judicial and not the legislative department of 
the Government is tlie ])ro[)er tribunal to decide the question whether 
a corporation has forfeited its charter. No precedent can be found of 
"the legislature" undertaking to forfeit a charter, and such a course 
would, in our opinion, be a most unwarrantable exercise of forbidden 
power. 

The i)Ower of the legislature is, however, ample in the premises. 
It has the undoubted right to comJemn the franchise of a corporation 
as well as the property of an individual, whenever the i»ublic good 
may require. This question has been fully considered and settled by 
the" Supreme Court of the United States, who have decided that the 
property a)id franchises of a corporation may be condemned in the 
same manner as the property of an individual, whenever the i)ublic 
good nmy require, and that the legislature is the sole judge of the 
necessity and expediency of such condemnation, subject only to the 
constitutional restraint of makiug\/«.s-^ compensation thi'ivi'oi: (West 
River Bridge Co. rs. Der and al., Otli Howard.) 

It has been shown that legal proceedings have been commenced to 
forfeit the charter of these con) panics, and it is urged in argument that 
the legislature should not interfere. Tiiis, in the view we take of the 
matter, is not the true issue. The truesubject for Congress to consider 
is whether the puhlic ejood requires the condemnation of these roads, 
the right to do so being clear. 

Are the facts i)resented sufHcient to authorize the determination that 
the jtublie f/ood re()uires the (condemnation of these roads? We thiidc 
they are sufficient and that it is manifestly the duty of the legislature to 
interfere. The proceedings at law to annul these charters may last many 
years and in the mean time the people must suffer great and continued 
inconvenience. 

If these roads were in the most perfect condition re(juired by their 
charter, the i)ublic good, we think, would require their abolition. One 
of them, the Bladensburg- road, has its gate about fifty feet from the city 
limits, and is a tax u])on all ingress and egress to and from thecity in that 
direction. This gate lies between the (Mty of Washington and the larg- 
est and only Catholic cemetery of the city, and toll is collected from every 
funeral procession when on its way to the grave. Every market gardener 
and small farmer bringing the i)roducts of his labor to the city over 
this road is taxed for it. It is in truth a tax upon their labor. 

It is numifestly unjust to deprive the people whose business leads 
them to or from the city over these roads of the benefits of the free 
ingress aiul egress wdiich is enjoye<l by the i)eople on other roads. It 
seems to us a self-evident proposition that the interest of the city requires 
that facilities of egress and ingress should be as free as possible. 



PHHLIC mcniWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 6 

Hntj when, in addition to these reasons, we add the fact that the road 
is in a bad condition and that the travel over it gets no trne value for 
their tolls, we think the clearest case is presented for immediate action 
on the i)art of (Jonjiress. 

As to the Seventh-street road tlie facts are soniewliat different, but 
the conclusions we reach are the san)e. 

This road does connect with a good turn|)il<(^ road, and is the main 
avenue of travel from ^lontgomery County into the city. The company 
have shown that f«n' ycnu's past they have expended all their earnings 
ujion the road; a)id as the evidence shows that the road is not in condi- 
tion required by its charter, therefore the jnst conclusion is that 
the company are not able to furnish the community with such a road as 
the necessities of the tra\'el demand and their charter requires ; it seems 
but .just and reasonable that the road should be taken out of their 
hands and placed in the hands of those, who can keep it in order. 

We rlierefore recommend tlnit both these roads be immediately con- 
demned and made fret? juiblic highways; that the damages be assessed 
in the usual manner, an<l as the city of Washington will be principally 
benefited, that the ex]»ense of such assessment be borne by the city 
and county of Washington somewhat in the propoi'tion to the popula- 
tion and ])roi>erty of cmcIi. and licrewith r<»port a bill to carry out these 
provisions. 



VVashinujon, 1). C, Jamuiry 14, 1«71. 

Tbt; (iuiniiiitteu met ; Mr. Muzzy apiiejued for the objectors ami Mr. Temple for the 
turnpike company. 

Mr. Muzzy stated that the ohjeetors complained of the violation of the charter granted 
to the turnpike company, dated April 2.5, 1810. which re((uired the company to canse at 
least twenty-four feet iu breadth throuohont the whole length of the road to be made 
an artificial road of stone, gravel, or other hard substance, of sufficient depth and thick- 
kuess to secure a solid and firm road, and to be so nearly level that it should in no case 
rise or fall more than at an angle of four degrees from a hoiizontal line, and required 
the road to l)e kept iu good and perfect repair, and bruiges to be built of sound and 
suitable materials. The objectors complained that it was not au artificial road of 
twenty-four feet iu width throughout the whole length; that it was not made of stone, 
gravel, or other hard substance, but^that in places it was made of mud and sand. They 
complained that it was not level ; that it was not kept in good repair ; aud that the 
bridges were not built of sound and suitable materials. 

The objectors also alleged violation of the charter in the 12th section of it, whicli 
provides that wheuever the net proceeds of tolls collected shall amount to a sum suffi- 
cient to reimburse the capital expended iu the purchase of the land .and the uuikiug of 
the roa'i, with 12 per cent, per annum thereon, the road shall become free and toll shall 
no longer be collected ou it, and prov ides that the company shall aniuiallv make returns 
to the cir<!uit court of the District of Columbia of the amount of tolls collected. These 
returns had uot been made for the last ten years aud more. 

Mr. Sto>;k. I understand your objection to be, first, that the company has uot com- 
plied with the terms of the charter iu keeping the road of the prescribed width or iu 
making ir, of the prescriltcd materials ? 

Mr. iMiv.ZY. Yes, sir. 

Mr. Stone. And, secondly, that the company has not complied with the terms of the 
charter in iu;glectiug to return to the circuit court of the District of Columbia a state- 
ment of the amount of tolls received aud of the expenses ? 

Mr. Muzzy. Yes, sir. The first oljjeetiou is that the road is not made aud kept in 
repair a<'cording to the terms of the charter; and the second, that the com])any has not 
made leturus to the co\irt according to the terms of the charter. 

Mr. M< KiCNZii;. The chartf^r is too long in operation to take up now the question of 
the maun<M iu which the road was built ; the committee must confine its inqiiiry to 
whether th«^ road is now in good condition. It is not worth while to go back r>0 or HO 
year? to tiud if the road was originally built right. 



4 PUBLIC 11 Kill WAYS IN THE DISTKICT UF COLl'MinA. 

C'i.Aj{K Mii-LS swdiii iiiid ('X.imiiicd. 
To Mr. Muzzy: 

My rosi(loiie(5 is in llic ooinity <il" Washiii<;t()ii, in tiie District of Coliuiihi.i ; it is ahoiir 
a mile :\vd a lialf oc a mile niul ti)iTf (iiiaitcis-lVoiii tlic tol]-j;ate at tin- boundary lint- 
on tlie Jjladenssbnig tiirii[>il<e road. I purchu.sod tlio ])lac(' in lf-54, and liavc resided 
there ever since. 

Qnestion. State whether you have been travelin<>- over tlie road for the last few 
ycars, and what its condition has been ? — Answ«'r. I had my attention bron<!,ht more 
])articularly to the condition of the road in IBGC), when I started a s(»n of mine in the 
<hiiry business on a i'arm. The road became so UmX at one time tiiat it reiiuired two 
horses to do the woik of one, and tinaily it became so impassable that teams had to 
leave the turnpike altogether and j>'o through tlie fields on Mr. Hickey's farm. 

Q. Were any ellbrts nnide to re))air the road at tiiat time f — A. No, sir; no efforts 
whatever. I went myself to the president of the road, Dr. Gunton, and state<l the 
ease to him. lie said lu; coiild do nothing ; that he had rt-nted tin; road to Mr. Henson. 
the toll-gate keeper, and that Mi'. Benson had obligated himself to iceep the road in 
thorougli repair. I then went to Mr. Benson and he used rather insulting language to 
me, saiyiug that a man must be a fool to conu^ to him at that time of tiie year to rej>aii 
a road. 1 to]<l him that he should rejiair it when he could rejjair it. That was in the 
latter ]^ait of .lanuaiy, li'^tlG. There had lieen a severe freeze, and the frost had conie 
out of the ground suddenly and had leit the road in such a s])ongy condition that the 
wheels would go down to the axles and frequently get stalled. The road is far from 
having a solid bed now. It is a good road peihaj)s in the summer and in the dry sea- 
sons of the year, but at other schsous of the year it is impassable. 

Q. How is It now ;' — A. It is not so bad now. "When the g}ound freezes deeply, and 
then a thaw conu's, the clay bottom becomes spongy and the a\ heels cut right down 
into it. 

By Mr. McKkxzH': : 
Q. It is not covered with rock '! — A. Mo, sir. There never has been juore than eight 
feet wide of it graveled. This information I have from a gentleman who stated that 
eight feet wide of gravel was suftieielit. as the wheels would scatter it over. My atten- 
tion was called to it the other day to examine the road in its ]»r(\sent condition. I snp- 
jtcse that in the best parts of flu; road there is but from ten to fifteen feet of gravel bed : 
get outside of that and yon are in day bottom again. The charter requii"es twenty- 
four feet of gravel bed. I investigated the subject three years ago wlien the tronide 
was so great about the road. I hunted up the law ami Avent to the president of the 
road and said, " All we want is a good road; we want such a road that our farmers can 
take their ))roduce over it to market in any Aveather," because wluMi our lands will not 
aUow plowing or cultivation we send teams with produce to market. 

By Mr. Muzzy : 

Q. What is the condition of the bridges on the line of road ; how wide are they ; 
are they twenty-four feet? — A. No, sir; they are not. 1 never measured them. One 
of the bridges gave way in my tinu% and we had to go for many months through the 
fields before the bridge was rebuilt in consequence of the cobble-stone being washed 
out. 

By Mr. McKKNzrE : 
Q. You say that the company kiiIs out the njad to tht; toll-gate keeper.' — A. Yes. 
I was told the other day by the toll-gate kecqier that, if we wanted to ])ass over the 
road free, the best way was to go to Congress and ask Congress to buy it up. I said 
that the tnmble about that Ava's that the road was ottered for $10,000, and that Con- 
gress objected that it would not buy a I'oad which had not complii^d with its charter. 

By Mr. Stoni-. : 

(^. What are the tolls on the road .' — A. !My toll now is, by the year, about §30 a year. 

i^. That is for anything you wish to .send? — A. Yes. 

Q. You do not know tlie tolls by the single vehicle? — A. Thej' are prescribed in the 
charter. 

Q. What is the length of the road ? — A. .\1iout. two and a <iuarter miles is all that 
the company pretends to own. 

('. M. At^KXANDKU sworn and examined. 

To Mr. Muzzy: 

I own a ])laco very near the Bladen.sburg turnpike road, and in reaching it I have to 
travel vu that road for about three-fourths of a mile. I live near Mount Olivet ceme- 
tery. In the s)>ring of ISlJO the road was in an impassable condition. In going to the 
city we were compelled to travel through the adjacent fields. At that time I had oc- 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. O 

casion, thiougli some of tlie papers, to call attention to tlie inlmnian manner in which 
the corpses going to the cemetery were jolted and jostled. I think that during that 
spring there was no toll charged. I do not think there was any toll-gate keeper there 
at all. Everything was free there for sev^eral months, whih' the road was in that con- 
dition. As ti) the width of the road, I have frequently had occasion to measure it by 
my step, and my own judgment is, that the road is not over twenty-one feet wide in 
any place. From the toll-gate, on toward Mount Olivet cemetery, the road varies from 
eighteen feet wide, from bank to bank, to twenty-one feet. My fatiier, who lived with 
me, had his linger broken by having his buggy npset, from not being able to pass a 
team on the road. 

By Mr. Stoxk : 
Question. How much of that eighteen or twenty-one feet is gravel road? — Answer. 
It is difficult to determine. I should suppose that 'there had been alittle gravel thrown 
on the center of the road, and that it had been dispersed tow ard the sides. As you 
get to the sides of the road the gravel gradually decreases, but it is not deep enough 
in any place to stand the frost, or prevent the road being cnt through by the Avheels 
when the rains come. 

liy Ml". Muzzy : 

ti. Are there rnts in the road, or is tiie road smooth and level ? — A. The road is not 
what we would call smooth or level ; it is what you might call a very ordinary, com- 
mon country road. 

Q'. How much n^pairing is put ou the ioad annnally, on that part of it which you 
travel over ?— A. I can hardly estimate that. I have sold the company gravel to the 
amount of about twenty-four dollars, and I think they may have put tweuty-five or 
thirty dollars" worth of "repairs on the I'oad. They bouglit gravel from me, and I think 
they bought it nowhere else. The gravel which they got in other parts was clay and 
gravel mixed. 

Q. Has tiiere been any macadamizing ])nt on the road since you have been there? — 
A. No, sir, except to till up a hole now and then. They would put it in the center, 
about six or eight feet, and then, as the outside became impassable, wagons would 
drive on this and si)read the gravel. 

Q. Is it possible for two wagons to pass each other altreast on the graveled part of 
the road ? — A. A^o, sir, it is not possible. 

Q. How is it about two loads of hay passing each other ?— A. They conld not do it 
on the road proper. 

Q. How about the bridges — can two vehicles pass on the bridges ? — A. There are but 
two bridges on the road. Two loads of hay cannot pass on the bridges; but two vehi- 
cles can pass, l»y one vehicle making room f(U' the other. The difficulty in driving to 
Mount Olivet Cemetery is, that funeral processions take the center of the road, and 
'■very gentleman jtassing up the ro.id is compelled to join in the procession for about 
half a milCj not being nble. to ])ass. 

By Mr. Stoxe : 

Question. Is that a large cemetery ? — Answer. Yes; it is the cemetery where all the 
Catlndics in the city are buried. I presume the interments average from three to five 
a day. 

Q. Is that the only road to get there ?— A. It is the only road to the cemetery. 

Mr. Muzzy stated that the interments at Mount Olivet Cemetery, from June 1, 18liH, 
to December :51, 1888. were n78 ; the interments for 1869, 649 ; and the interments for 
1870, 674. 

Q. HowM'ar is it fnmi the toll-gate to the cemetery?— A. Between half and three- 
(luarters of a mile. 

Q. Has the road been in the condition which you have spoken of every winter ? — A. 
Not in as bad condition as it was during that season. It (h>pends upon whether the 
weather is cold or wet. If we have a rainy season, the road is impassable ; and if we 
have a cold spell, when the frost comes out of the ground, tlie road becomes impassable. 

By Mr. McKknzik : 

Questu)n. Do yon know how long the road has been rented to the toll-gate keeper '! — 
Answer. I do not know. He has been renting it, I think, since I went there, which 
vas in 186."). 

By Mr. Stu>'k : 
Question. Have they bought all the gravel that was used on the road from you f — 
Answer. Yes, so far as I know. They have taken some from the banks outside, but it 
was a mixture of gravel and clay. I <lo not know of any pni<' gravel that they bought, 
eiccept fiom nu. 



6 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

TiKtMAs J*irri:u hwoim jiihI cxjiniiiicd. 

To Mr. Muzzy : 

I live on the lino of tlic J51ii<k'ii.sl>iirj; ncid, abniit a mile ami f liitc-i|iiart»-i.s jVoiu tlir- 
toll-gatc. I liav(3 lived tlieve siiu-e a year last Uctolier. The road has been in a, very 
l)ad eondition for a turnpike road. 1 have traveled on. a jjood many turnpike roads 
in Virjiinia and Maryland. 

Question. You have heard that the charter re<iuire.s the road to be .sixty-six feet wide, 
of wliieh twenty-four feet is to be an artificial road, made of stone, <:;ravel, or other hard 
substance ; how has tliat requirement been carried out for the mile and three-quarters 
that you travel over? — Answer. 1 came over the road this mornin«;j. There is about one 
or two hundred yards of the road at this side of my gate which there is no gravel upon, 
nor stone. There are ruts of from six to twelve inches depth there this morning. I do 
not say that all the road is like that, but I say that a hundred yards of it there has 
not got a bit of gravel on it — nothing but the dirt scra])ed on each side. 

Q. Do you commute your tolls by tiie year ? — A. Yes. When I rented my place out 
last year, 1 was to i>ay one-third of tln^ tolls, and the tenant was to pay two-thirds. I 
paid $1{>, and I i)resunie the tenant ])ays the other two-thirds, Avhich will make .*:W in 
all. The road will Ik; worse than it is now, if rain comes; but theie is very little mois- 
ture in the grouud, and eonseijuently the country roads have not cut u]) niucli yet. 

By Mr. Tkmpi.e : 
Q. You say that yon have been in flic habit of passing over riic turnjiikc roads in 
Virginia and Maryland; were none of them so bad that wheels could not jienetrate ? — 
A. I have traveled over the Shenandoah Valley turni)ike road and the Northwestern 
and Western Virginia turnpike roads, away out in the Wilderness, and from Freder- 
ick to Hagerstown, and from Hagerstown to Williamsport, and from Ifockville to 
Georgetown. )jut nc\ cr found a road so bad as this. I do not say that all the road is 
like that nc^ar my gate. 1 do not call that a pike at all ; T call that a dirt road ; there 
is no gravel at all upon it. 

By Mr. Stonk : 
Q. Do you know anything ahdut tin- widtli nf tin- mad lictwtiii llic ditchesf — A. 
No, sir. 

Q. Can two loaded teams pass / — A. Not on the solid road. In sonn^ i)laces they may 
do it. The road certainly is not twenty-four feet of hard material in all places. 

By Mr. McKkxzie : 
Q. You think it a mighty poor road to lead to the seat of the Federal Government .' — 
A. I consider it a disgrace "to the Fuited States Government to have such a road clos.- 
to the city. 

Anton Kupkkt sworn autl (examined. 
To Mr. Muzzy : 

I live on the line of tlu; Bladensburg turn])ikc, ainmt three-quarters of a mile fn»i; 
the toll-gate. I am a butcher by traite and drive teams over the road every morning, 
lu 1865 and 186B I had to go to uiarket every morning, and the road was so deep that 
the horses sank in it and I had to send back to get more horses to haul them out. 
That hapi)eued not once but several times. Then I had to cut through my place and 
to take another road. 

Question. What is the condition of the road uow ? Is there twenty-four feet of it in 
width of stone or gravel ? — Answer. There is no stone on it ; there is a little gravel on 
it in some i)laces. 

Q. How about two teams ]>assing on the road ?— A. Two buggies nuty pass, but noT 
two hay wagons. I have had many a time to wait behind a hay wagon until we got to 
tlie toll-gate Ijefore I could jjass. 

Q. How is the road for hauling heavy loads .' — A. Aery bad. 

By Mr. SroNK : 

Q. What is its condition now .' — A. 'folerably lair. There arc smiie few hole.-* in it. 
luit not many, because we have had no 1)ad sjiells of weather tiiis season. 

Q. How was it last spring ?— A. It was tolerable, too. During the tinu- that the 
road was so bad there was lU) toll collecte<l. but we wli(» miniimted bad alrea<ly paid 
our tolls for the year. I jtaid iji^lJO a year. 

(iKOl!<;K IjAUKK sworn ;ind examined. 
To Mr. Muzzv : 

I live on the Bladensburg turnpike road, a little the other side of the Half-Way 
House, about a mil(! Iroui the toll-gate. In 1866 there was a part of the road that 
wagons could not get through. 1 saw two or three hay wagons lying in it that could 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 1 

not get out, they never found bottom in it. I never saw the road right, excei»t in the 
summer, Avhen all roads are good. I measured itj:he other evening and found it about 
eighteen feet in some places from one gutter to another. There are some guUeys on the 
road vfhere, if a wagon were upset, it would be thrown into a ditch six or seven feet 
deep. There is a big giilley on one side and a small gixUey on the other. It is the same 
way at the Half-Way House. If tluM-e are hay wagons on the road, you cannot pass 
them in some places. 

By Mr. Stone : 
Question. You say the road has been bnd more or less every winter f— Answer. Every 
time that it gets wet it is bad. Even this morning it is beginning to break up, and if 
we have one or two days' rain it will be b.id again. Even a week's rain during tin- 
summer makes it l>ad and spongy. 

Washinotox Dicxsox sworn and exanuaed. 

To Mr. Muzzy : 

1 live on the line of the Bladenshurg turnpike. I lost a horse on that ruail in 1835. 
I started from home one morning with a light load, and the horse sank up to the knees 
in the mud. I took her out of the wagon and got some folks to help me draw the wagon 
out. I put her iii the wagon again and got a Uttle way farther, and there again had to 
take her out. When I got as far as the toll-gate I then had a good road and got safe to 
market ; but when I got back again as far as the blacksmith shop on the turnpike road, I 
had to take her out of the wagon ; she gave out entirely. I started to take her home, Init 
she could not get home, and died that day. I bought her from Mr. Dnnu. I gave $35 
for her, but would not have taken .f 100 for her. She was in good condition when I 
started with her that morning. I live about a mile and a half from the toll-gate, and 
about half a luile from the road. It is a toleraldy good mnd road from the turnpike 
to my house. 

C. E. Creecy sworn and examined. 
To Mr. Muzzy : 

1 have to pass Mr. Peter's place to get to my own place. On that portion of the turn- 
pike road there is nothing at all but dirt. Passing there with a horse and carriage I 
broke down in the middle of the road. I broke the traces and ])art of the carriage, 
which cost me four dollars to have repaired. The mud was up to the axles of the cai-- 
riage. That was last April or May. That was just before you reach the boundary line. 
I do not think that any stone or gravel has been put on the road, to my recollection. 

By Mr. Temple : 

Question. Do I understand you to say that there is nothing but mud from Mr. Peter's 
gate to the end of the road f— Answer. No, sir; I say that as to about a hundred yards 
of the road. A portion of it has been graveled siuce then. 

Q. Have you ever measured the road ? — A. I stepped it over ; and in some places it 
is not more "than eighteen or nineteen feet in width ; and there are deep gulleyson either 
side, which, if a horse ran away, or if a buggy were upset into, would endanger life. 
There is in) barrier or fence protecting the road from these gulleys. On the left-hand 
side, going from the city, and not a quarter of a mile from the boundary line, one of 
the gulleys is eight or ten feet deep, and the guUey on the other side of the road is 
about five or six feet. 

By Mr. Muzzy : 

Q. Is the road twenty-four feet in Avidth, of stone, gravel, or other hard -.ubstance, 
through the entire length of the road '? — A. No, sir. 
Q. Has it been since you knew it f — A. No, sir. 
Q. How long have you traveled over that road f — A. Ten years. 

By Mr. McKexzie : 

Q. How long has it been leased to the toll-gate keeper ? — A. I have heard it statad by 
persons who conversed with Mr. Benson, that he leased it before the war, and still con- 
tinues to lease it. It is the general belief that they charged toll to all the Army 
wagons. 

Mr. Muzzy put in evidence the following certiticate from the clerk of the supreme 
court of the District of Columbia, which court succeeded in 1833 to the duties and 
powers of the circuit court of the District of Columbia : 

SurKEME Court of the District of Columijia, 

Clerk^ii Office, January 16, 1S71. 

I hereby certify tliat I have been clerk of this court since JIarch, 18G3. 

And I further certify that during tlie time I have been clerk as aforesaid, the presi- 



8 PUBLIC HIGH WAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLIIMIUA. 

dent, directors, and eonipany of Ihe Colnnibia tnrnpiUo roads have not annually made 
returns to this court of tlie amount of^tlie ti>lls collected by them and of tbeir neces- 
sary expenses, nor have they nuide any such returns at any time since I have been 
clerk as aforesaid. 

Given under my band and ili<' seal of this i-onrt, at Washington City, D. C, this Kith 
flay of Januarv, A. 1). H71. 

[SEAL.] ■ K. .T. IVIEKiS, rUrk. 

C. M. Ai,i;\.\.\i)i:i: re<-alleil. 
By Mr. Mrzzv : 

Question. State whether there is any portion of the road diflicult lo travel in sunnuer 
Tiy reason of sand 'I — Answer. There is a (lortion of the road borderinj^ on Mr. Peter's 
farm, which is a deep sandy road, wluirc I hi' sand is sonn'tiuios five or six inches deep. 
It is always difliiMilt for a lit^avy team to p:v over it. This piece extends for two or 
three hundred yards. I think there is no gi-avel on it. If there has been any gravel 
l)ut there it must have been a little put in the center; but I do not think there is any 
jiravel there. It is a heavy sand road, such as they have in many parts of Maryland. 

Q. How long have you noticed it in that way ? — A. For the last five or six years — 
since I have been traveliny,- ov<-r the road. 

C. E. Chkkcy recalled. 

By Mr. Mrzzv: 

(Question. You have hearil what Mr. Alexander has stated about a portion of this road 
being covered with sand. State what you know on that point ? — Answer. That portion 
of the road lies between Mr. Rives's and Mr. Clark Mills's, and borders on Mr. Peter's 
farm. In the sunnncr tinu; it is the worst part of the whole road. It is toleral)ly good 
in the winter time. That sandy portion covers, I should think, one hundred and fifty 
or two hundred yards. The sand there is generally three or Ibnr inches deep. It is 
not covered with gnn'el or stone. 

Q. How long has it liecn in that condition ?— A. Ever since I have been traveling 
over it. I have never known it to be different. That is eight or nine years. I think 
they have got a liUle gravel now on the sandy ))ortion. 

William Foksytii sworn and examined. 

To Mr. Cni:i:cv : 

I am a surveyor by jircd'ession. I have made this survey now presented to lue. I 
■Wint out there' by special requ(;st and made that little sketch of the road. It is a true 
sketch of the road. 

(The sketch was \n\\ in evidence.) 

To Mr. Stonk: 

The width of the road at the toll-gate, from fence to fence, is lifty-two and a half feet, 
I think. 

Question. "What is the width of the gate ?— Answer. Sixteen and a half feet. That 
space of sixteen and a lialf feet ( xtends some twenty feet or so from the gate. 

By Mr. CnEKCV : 

Q. Did you measure the road a short distance above the gate .'—A. I exanuued the 
-whole road some time ago, but did not mak<! a survey. 

Q. AVhat is the width of the road, fifty yards up from the toll-gate, leaving out the 
gidlevs ? — A. I am not able to say «xactly. 

Q. 'what is the condition of the road generally ?— A. Especially from the city 
boundary to Mount Olivet cemetery it is very bad. In winter time, particularly, it is 
almost imi)assable. 

Q. Have you ever se<'n wagons or vehicles stalled there?— A. I have had my own 
carriage stalled there. 

Q. Did yon i)ay t(dl as yon passed through ?— A. I generally went out there on fu- 
neral excursions, and, of course, toll was (diarged. 

Q. Have you ever seen a funeral stalled there ;'— A. I have seen hacks mired there 
very badly. 

Q. Is that the largest Catholic cemetery in the district ;'— A. It is the only one I 
know of. I laid it out. 

By Mr. Ti-.MrLi', : 
Q. Are funeral jjrocessions cliargcd toll for each carriage .'—A. I am unable to say • 
I have itassed through from time to time myself and have had to pay toll. I under- 
stand that there is an arrangt'meiit with the company about funerals. 



PUBLIC HIGH WAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 9 

Wasiuxcton, I). C, January IH, 1871. 
Thomas M. Benson sworn ami <x;nniiu'il. 

To Mr. T]:mi'L]: : 

I have licaid no complaint.s made iu refereure to the conditiou of the Bhideiisburg 
turnpike road. All that I iiave ever heard about it for the last two years has been from 
Colonel Kives. I hail asked hiiu, if ho saw auythiu'j,- wrong with the road, to rep;)rt to 
liie; and at times he would tell me that afc such and such places the road was out of or- 
der. At the time the colored man lost liis horse the road was in as j^ood condition as I 
ever saw it in ; but the horse was actually worn out for the want of soriV'thiny; to eat, 
and he naturally fell down and died. 1 was instructed by the president of the road to 
keep an account of 1 he entiie amount received for tolls. I kept the account and furnished 
it to Dr. Gunton. I hire the road from the compauy by the month. I have hired it 
for the last six or seveu years. Up to about three years since I did the repairs myself; 
since then they are done by the company. I pay the com.pauy .f85 a mouth for the 
road. During the war I i>aid -ifl^O a month, and did the repairs. Dr. Gunton gave me 
$500 toward one repair. Since then, when I got some gravel from Mr. Alexandei', he 
gave me, I think, $250. The year that Dr. Gunton gave me $500 the repairs amounted, 
I thinic, to ovei' itHl.OOO. That was in 18i35_or 18.i8. My contract for the road is not for 
any specified time. 1 can abandon it whenever I choose. Any trifling repairs that are. 
necessary 1 attend to. If I found a culvei't out of order or a hole in the road I would 
have it tixed. That was my jigreement with the company. I Iiave never known any- 
body to be injured through being thrown out of a buggy on account of the bad con- 
<lition of the road. There is another road to Bladensburg known as the old mill road, 
which strikes Colonel Eives's jilace three or four hundred yards to the west. There is 
also another road between that and the turnpike; and there is the Beuuing's bridge 
road on the east side of the Eastern Branch. That is a very good road, alil-tle muddy 
at times. The old Bladensburg road is a nearer way to the Center Market from Colonel 
Rives's place than the turnpike road. The other is a -nearer way to Ca)iitol Hill. 
There are only nine residences between the railroad and the turnpike. The rates of 
toll are three cents a horse and three cents a vehicle ; but sometimes I only charge 
•people going iu and out with a buggy ten cents. The toll-gate is thirty or forty yards 
From the city boundary line. There is verj- little travel on the road now, there ai'e 
so many other roads leading to Bladeusbnrg. If these roads are good people take 
them so as to save the toll ; bu( if they are bad they come l)y the turnpike. I have 
always found the turnpike road better than any of the county roads. The turnpike 
company has an arrangement with the cemetery compauy by which only tifty cents is 
charged for a funeral, no matter what the number of carriages may be. The only diffi- 
culty iu passing iunerals has been at the cemetery gate, where hackmen sometimes 
block up the road with hacks four or live abreast. When I was a policeman I would 
go there and make them clear the road; but there is no dithculty along the road. 
1 never heard of any. Daring the war tifty wagons have gone past in a train, two 
abreast. The width of the gate is something like sixteen feet. I built it myself, for 
my own convenience and that of the public. There has been no difficulty or trouble 
about it, and no one has ever said to me that it was in the way. 

Q. Has the company shown any disposition to s])end money beyond the limits of the 
road ? — A. Yes, sir ; I spent for the company a little over $700 about a mile beyond, out 
in the county of Prince George. I did that at one time in grading the road, hauling 
gravel and graveling the road, and cutting down hills. That was in 18(iii or 18fi7. I have 
since then spent about $90 on a, 1)ridge beyond the limit of our road. 

By Mr. Davidge : 
<:^uestion. AYhat w"ei-e the teiins on which you rented the road.' — Answer. I was to 
keep the road in repair, and was to i»ay $130 a month. When a thorough repair was 
necessary the company had to attend to it. I was answerable for the ordinary wear 
and tear of the road. Any extraordinary repairs were to be made by the company. I 
worked under that contract for three or four years. After the war ceased the toll fell 
otf so tliat I went to Dr. Gunton and said that I could not afford to pay that j>rice. 
Then it was reduced to $8>, and the company was to do the repairs, except some trilling 
matters which I would attend to. That new arrangement Avas made, I think about 
1868, and I have been working under it till the ])resent time. 

By Mr. Templk : 

(Question. It is ]»rovided in the charter that just and true ace mnts shall be kept afe 
the toll-gate ; did Dr. Gunton explain to you the necessity of keejiing the books? — 
Answer. — Yes. 

Q. Did you do it ? — A. To the best of my ability. 

By Mr. Muzxy : 
Question. How much numey have you expended last year in repairs hu ih- iia.- of 
road f — A. I cannot tell. 



10 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

C^. How iiiauy haiuls wcir employed on the road diuiiif;' tliat time .' — A. I Tiever kept 
ail aeouiit. 

Q. What wore the receipts of the road hist year ! — A. I caiiuot tell. 

Q. How loiis>- is the road '! — A. It is railed three miles. 

<^. Is that road, throiij;hont its eutire leiij^th, ojraveled for tweuty-foiiv feet wide, 
with <ira\'el or covered with stoiK^ .' — A. I cannot answer that question. I never took 
my ])i(k alonfjj to try it. j\s to the <;nlleys, I went into the ditch the other day anc 
my head was level with the road, and I thonj^ht that the depth of the ditch was about, 
my height. Tliere was one i)lace where I could not see the road without stepping up 
a little. I should. j^dg(^ it to be about seven feet in the deepest part — allowing for the 
depth of the water. ()ii the other side of tiie road I measured it with a tape-line, ami 
three feet was the deepest place. 

James G. Naylor sworn and examined. 
To Mr. Templh : 

1 have been i)assing on the Bladciisbnrg turnpike road f<)r twcnl.s - live or twenty-sever, 
years. I have been fre(|uently sent Ijy the president of the road to look into its condi- 
tion. I always thouglit that the roail was as good as any road 1 traveled on — ln'tter than 
any of tin- country roads. I traveled the turni)ike road from Georgetown to Kockvillc 
That road is macadamized, but it is a better road than it. I always hunted for this r(»a(^ 
when I went out for a pleasure drive. I would rather go on it than on any other road I 
can get, even in the city. It is better to-day than H street is, from tlie printing office ti 
the toll gate, and it is less dangerous. Theie was a hole on H Street l)ridge the night 
before last, which was vt^ry dangerous. Sometimes in the spring, when the frost i^; 
coming ont of the gronnd, this road would l)e muddy, but I have always found the 
road tolerably good throughout its entire length. I do not live on the road, but hav<' 
always traveled it a good deal. I live in Washington. Dr. Gnnton has sent me fre- 
quently to look at the road. Twenty or thirty times would not excuse it. I have 
never had any dittieulty in passing over it anywhere. Once during the war it was 
pretty muddy, but it was the same all over the city. It was muddy ahuost everywhere 
that the Army travel was. I had not been over the road for the last two months til> 
the other evening, when I Avent up as far as the cemetery. It was a verj- good road 
then, I thought. 

Questi<)n. Is thert^ any difficulty in two vehicles passing each other? — Answer. 1 
was sitting in my buggy the other evening at the toll-gate, talking to the keeper; my 
buggy was a little diagonal, too, three feet from the one side; a hack came up. I sup- 
pose at the rate of six miles an hour: when it got close to me I felt a little scared, but 
it went by ami never touched my bugay or the other side. I think the toll-uate is 
al>out 16 feet wide. 

By Mr. Muz/.v : 

Q. Do you know whether that load. tiiroughout its entire length, is sixty-six feet 
wide .' — A. I do not know. 

Q. Do you know whether, throughout its entire length, there is twenty-four feet of 
artiticial road, of ston(>, gravel, or other hard sul>stancef — A. I cannot answer that 
question as knowing it. 

Q. Do you know whether it is of stone, gravel, or other hard, substance, of sufficient 
depth or tiiickness to secure a tirm. hard road, with surface as smooth as the materials 
will admit .' — A. I cannot answer that question. All the examination I ever uuule of 
the road was from general observation. 

Q. You know nothing of the dimensions of the road, nor whether the company has 
eomplied with tiie recjuirements of tlu' charter in adhering to those dimensions? — A. I 
ilo not know anything about it. 

Pathick Chowi.KV sworn and examined. 
By Mr. Tkmi-i.k : 

I have known tlie liladensburg tnrnpike road since 1811. I was at the making of it 
when I was sx boy. Whenever I went over it I always foiuid it in good conditiou, 
except in the spring, when you will find ruts cut in it as in all turnpikes. I always 
fouml it better than half tiie turnpikes, and l)ettt>rtliau our own streets in tin* city. I 
Inivelieen a contractorof tiuiqiikes and railroads for forty years. I was on the Bladens- 
bnrg tiirniiike on tlie ■'"'tli of Dicemlx'r last. It was then what we c:ill first-rate. It 
was in good traveling order. 1 did not see a nit in the whole of it. 1 cannot see vrhy 
our friends are making so mu<;]i fn-<s .iliont tiiis pike, if they look at our own streets. 

By Mr. Muzzy: 
(^. Was this turni»ike laid out (ui the old county road? — A. Part of it was. From 
the toll-gate to the cemetery it was all now. The old r.iad was about 200 feet to tho 
left of it. 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 11 

Q. Is the i(Kxd .sixty-six feet in width thiougliout its eutire length ? — A. I did not 
irieiisnre it. 

Q. Is there twenty-fonr fe«-t of artificial road, made of giivvel, stone, or other hard 
snbstance ? — A. I consider it so. 

Q. How deep is the gravel ? — A. I do not know. 

Q. Do you know whether any part of that road lias sand on it? — A. Ye.s, sir ; at 
Calvert's hog-pen there is nothing hut sand; but I think that part is graveled. 

A. I believe you have been a contractor for building roads ? — A. Yes. 

A. In building a tnrni)ike what depth of gravel or stone do you put on the road to 
make it in first-rate order '! — A. On a macadamized road we put twelve inches on the 
center, and ten in the sides, twelve feet wide. Then we have on one side a summer 
road and in some places two. 

Q. You were contractor for buikling a road in Montgomery County some time ago ? — 
A. Yes, sir ; to Brookville. 

Q. What is the cost per mile of bnilding it?— A. Two thousand five hnudred dollars- 
a mile. It. is twenty-four feet wide. The macadamized part is twelve feet wide, the 
gravel being twelve inches in the center and nine on the sides. 

Q. What is your idea about the ^iroper depth of gravel or stone ou a pike twenty- 
four feet wide, which is to be covered with stone or gravel ? — A. I sliould think about 
twelve inches in the center. 

Q. Is this Bladensburg road that depth ? — A. I do not know that. I only spoke of 
how .solid the road was when I traveled over it on the 8th of December. 

Q. Was there any road in the county, then, which you could not travel over nicely ? — 
A. Yes ; there was a turnpike out ou\Seventh street, part of which I conld not travel 
over. 

By Mr. Tkmi'LE : 

Q. You say that the Brookville road cost $2,-500 a mile Was that fi)r the grading "! — 
A. — For the" grading, stone, and all. S<uue of it cost !|3,500 a mile. Some of it was 
sub-let at |1,800. 

By Mr. Muzzy : 

(^. Have you not contracted to build a road up there this year for !tii'<J,500 a mile ? — 
A. Yes. 

Q. Have you sub-let for less than that ?— A. Yes, sir ; I sub-let it for |1,800. That 
road is twenty-four feet wide, with twelve inches on the center and ten on the side of 
macadamized road, and one good summer road. 

.TnsKiTi J. Morgan sworn and examined. 

To Mr. TEjrPLE : 
1 am a member of the police force. I have passed over the Bladensburg turnpikt- 
daily since I was a boy. Its condition has generally been good, except in the spring, at 
the breaking up after a hard freeze. I have seen it, then, sometimes very muddy. A 
colored man lost a mule on the road last summer, but it died from disease, I believe. 
I did not see it. There was no mnd there at that time. In 1S6.3 there were holes in 
tlie road after a freeze, and during cloudy, wet weather. I think there were places 
where there were some teams stalled. I have not heard any coniidaints during the 
last two years of the condition of the ro;id. I heard some of the folks complain of its 
being a toll road. 

By Mr. ^Muzzv : 

<)>. Does not the condition of the road depend ou the weather — good in good weather 
and bad in bad weather ?— A. Certainly ; that is so with all roads. 

Q. Have you never seen a turnpike which did not get muddy in bad weatlier .' — A. 
No, sir ; I did uot. 

Q. Is that road 63 feet in width throughout its eutire length? — A. I cannot auswei 
that question. 

Q. Is it an artificial road 24 feet in width throughout its eutire length, made of stone, 
gravel, or other hard substance !? — A. I judge that in some places it is less than 24 feet, 
bnt I guess that much of it is more than 24 feet. The road has been graveled and re- 
gravtdud, and the gravel has worn out. Ou the top of it the gravel does uot show, but 
there may be gravel there if you dig down. 

Q. Is there any sand on the- road ? — A, There is in places. Where Mr. Peters's farm 
is there is sand. The road was rounded up last summer, and sand put on the top. That 
is the only piece of the road that does not show gravel. 

il- Have you ever measured that road ? — A. I heard I was going to be summoned, 
and I measured some i)laces yesterday with a stick. The least width of where I meas- 
uied, where it is safe for persons to travel, is about 22 teet. 

Q. Then I understand you that in many places tlie r-oa.d is but 22 feet wide? — A. lu 
one place. 



12 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Q. How lar does that cxtiMHl f — A. A small ]ii('cc — about four feet. 

Q. Did you ever know a fiMieral to l)e.stall('<l on tliat road, going to tlie cemetery? — 
A. No, sir. 

Q. How long lias that road been on yoiii- Ixat .' — A. For the last seven or eight years. 

Q. At what point was it that you found tlie road to l)e only 22 feet? — A. About oiu', 
hundred and hfty or two liundred yards above the gate. That is a slip. There is a 
running stream then;, and iu time of rain a great deal of water comes down, winch has 
washed quite a ditch tiiere. 'J'hese plac(!s were tixed up last sunmu'r, but there came 
rain again, and caused them to slip again. I never heard of any one being injured t>y 
being thrown out of a buggy on account of the bad condition of the roa<l. 

(.'JIAHLKS C. Ivr.v sworn and examined. 

To Mr. Temple : 

l passed over the Bladcnsburg turnpike, last Sunday. 1 went out to Bladcnsburg and 
l)ack. The general condition of the road, I thonglit, was very good — mucii better than 
some of the strec^ts in the city that I passed over in going to the toll-gate, especially 
G and 11 streets. 

Q. Were there any ruts in the road twelve inches deep ? — A. No, sir. Near Clark 
Mills's place, goijig up tiu^ hill toward Colonel Rives's, was the worst place that I saw ; 
but it is because jjcoplc do not drive on tiie gravel, but on the side of the road. There 
has been gravel jtut there recently, and instead of driving on the gravel people take t<) 
the sand on each side. I cannot say what depth of gravel is there. Tiiere is a good 
»leal: but last Sunday was a very muddy day. 

To j\Ir. Muzzy : 

I do not live on the line of road, but i fre((Uently (lri\e o\<'r it. 'J'ln' wiiKli of thi> 
place where the gravel was freshly put on was, I sliould say, 15 feet. 

Q. Do you know whether that road, throughout its entire length, is 66 feet in width, 
from feuce to fence ? — A. I should think it was, but I am not a judge of distances. 

Q. Do you know whether it is an artiticial road, 24 feet iu width, made of gravel, 
stone, or other hard substance ? — A. I cannot say as to that. I can testify as to the 
general condition of the road. The road is very hard and firm. I could not trot 
my horse last Sunday on a portion of H street, but I could trot him along on the toll- 
road tirst-iate. The general condition of the road is much better than H street, 
especially that part from the toll-gate to the cemetery. It is in very hard and goctd 
<-onditiou. 

yir. Davidge put in evidenc(> the account of tolls and of expenditures on the road. 



Wa.shingtox, D. C, January 23, 187 J. 



. . — __^», — „^., _^. ^., ^ — ^ — , 

^Ir. Muzzy called the attention of the committee to the act of February 15, 1819, page 
S2, 3 Statutes at Large, authorizing the extension of the road of the Washington and 
lockville Turnpike Company in Maryland into the District of Columbia, upon the 
.'olumbia Turnpike Road Company surrendering the i ight to build the road, and provid- 
ug that the act in ndation to the width of road, &c., of the Columbia turnpike road, 
lassed in 1810, should be in force, and should apjdy to that road. This act re(|uired 



H. W. Bkewku, sworn and examined. 
To Mr. Mt'zzv: 

I reside iu Georgetown, and am a civil engineer. I have exannned the Washington and 
Rockv^ille turn])ike road, and hand in a plat of that road. I uuule the examination in 
<2onnection with Mr. Forsyth, some tinu' in December, 1870. The tbllowing is a correct 
i'opy of thi' statement made about it : 

GKOiuiETOWx, 1). C, DecTinbcr 11, 1870. 

Sir: In company with you, I have (sxamined into the condition of the Seventh street 
road, from Boundary street to the Maryland line. The tbllowing is the result, taken 
from notes and nieasureinents made on the spot: 

From Boundary street to station No. 2, on the accompanying sketch, road-bed uneven 
and in ruts, but foundation solid. Bridge l)etween these points iu good order. From 
No. 2 to No. 5, (toll-gate,) good gravel road. From No. 5 to No. 6, road-bed clay and 
sand. The culv(>rt at No. (i not in very good order; north wall bulges, and no protec- 
tions on sides. From No. 6 to No. 7, loose sand and Hat in the nii<ldle ; road not in ord(T 
for travel. From No. 7 to No. 8, road has been newly macadamized, and is very rough. 
From No. 8 to No. D, road of loose sand, and in bad condition ; culvert at l> has good 
covering but is w.ished at bottom and ui)])er end, and has no protection for travel. From 
No. y to No. 10, road in very bad condition. From No. 10 to No. 11. the road is mac- 
iulaniizod, but it is in such a condition that the road would be bem-fited by its removal. 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 13 

The bridge at No. 11 is built upon foundation Avails three feet high, with plank sides 
abont twelve feet in height. The railing is in dangerous condition. From the mirth- 
ern end, for the distance of two hundred and forty feet, there is a liigh embankment 
entirely unprotected, and is very dangerous to night travel. From No. 12 to No. 13, 
the road is macadamized, and is in fair order. From No. V.i to No. 14, the road is of 
sand, with patches of macadamizing, loose stones, «S:c. From No. 14 to No. IG, the 
road is from twelve to Hfteeu feet in width, and is fairly graveled. From No. 16 to 
No. 17, deep sand. From No. 17 to No. 18, macadamized, but much worn. From No. 
18 to No. 19, road commences with four feet of macadimizing and euds with ten feet ; 
the whole is in bad condition. From No. 19 to No. 20, sand, with patches of macad- 
amizing. From No. 20 to No. 21, road in fair order, and about tifteen feet wide. Froui 
No. 21 to No. 22: About one-half of this portion of the road has well-worn macadamizing; 
the balauce is in better order, and a1)out tifteen feet wide. From No. 22 to No. 2"J : 
One thousand and twenty feet of this portion of the road is macadamized, and is 
in good order; the balance is in bad condition. 

lu reviewing these notes, there can be no hesitancy in answering the questions pro- 
l^ounded to yon by the attorneys of the levy court as follows: 

1st. The road is not made throughout its entire length twenty-four feet wide of " stone 
or gravel, or other hard substance, of sufficient depth and thickness to secure solid and 
tirm road." 

2d. The surface of the road is not as " smooth as the material will admit. " 
:M. The road in no case rises or falls so as to make an angle of 4^^ with the horizontal 
line. 

4th. The road is not in " good and perfect repair." 
.')th. The bridges are not built of "sonud and suitable material." 
You will tind accompanying this, a sketch of the road enlarged from Bosclskc's snap 
of the District. 

Respectfully yours, &c.. 

H. W. ]^>]|E\VI:R, Civil Kiuiiimr. 
William Forsyth, Civil Kin/ineev. 



By Mr. Stone : 




By Mr. Muzzy : 

(^. What is the entire length of the road within the District "?— A. 25,300 feet. 

q. What is the length from the city limit to the first toll-gate ?— A. 7,C00 feet. 

Q. Is it your judgment tliat the road, including that part of it which is macadariiized 
and graveled, is 66 feet in width throughout I — A. I did uot measure it, but I should 
judge it is about 60 feet. I suppose the width is all right. 

Q. Are you coutident' that the road is not, throughout its entire length, 24 feet in 
width, of stone, gravel, or other hard substance ? — A. I am perfectly sure of it. 

By Mr. Williams : 
Q. What is the average width of the macadamized ]iart of the road ? — A. Some plaees 
it is only 8 feet, and in some places 5. I do not think that in any place it is over 20. 
Q. Would it average half the width of 24 feet f— A. I hardly think it would. 
Q. Is there any part of it graveled light, in your jiulgnient ? — A. Not a good graveled 
road. It has had some gravel U[ton it. In some places the road-bed is very good, but 
it is rather flat, I thiuk — not crowned. The greater portion of it is sandy, and rather 
deiip sand at that. 

[The plat of the road was put in evidence, as follows :] 

(For plat of road see original mannscript.) 

CiiAULUS H. Bliss sworn. 

To Mr. Muzzy : 

I am a civil eugim;er ; I am acquainted with the road known as the Seventh street 
turnpike; I have traveled it moie or less within the last ten years. 

Question. You have hcaid the requirements of the charter stated by nve as to the 



14 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTINCT OF COLUMBIA. 

width ol" tlio iojhI ; that it wais to ))c !24 I'cct, of gravel, stone, or othoi' hard siil»rsraiict> 
throughout its cut in- h'ligth. Ls it your judgment that that has been complied with ? — 
Answer. No, sir; not hy any means. 

Q. What is tlit^ condition of the road ? — A. In muddy times the load is very bad. I 
recollect, sonu5 nine years ago, getting stalled there with a ])air of horses and carriage. 
Since then I have been over tlie road a great many times. On another occasion, when 
I liad my own team haiding a wagon, the road was so bad in one sandy place that 1 
Imd to get out and walk the hills, and in many ])laces it is dangerous to attempt to get 
from th(^ side on to the stone in the center of the road. I consider it a daug(>rous road 
to travel over. I was v«'ry much surpris(>d that such a road should be called a pike. 
The bridges are <langerous ; I consider them so. 'I'he last time I went over that road, 
last fall, I came back l)y the other road from Brightwood, in preference to coming back 
over it. There is no railing for protection on thi- bridges. 

(^>. Between Howard University and the city are there any high banks ? — A. Yes; 
there are several i>laces that I consider dangerous. 

Q. Can two carriages pass over the bridg<^s together? — A. I think that perha])S they 
t-ould on some of the bridges. I always hurry over the bridge, so as not to nu'ct any 
other team on the bridge. I do not think that a carriage and a load of hay could i>ass 
each other on the biidges: it seems to me very doubtful. I have been city surveyor of 
Washington for two years past, and hav(^ had twenty years' experience of building 
roads and canals. I never saw such a tnrn]tike ; I would not call it a turnpike ; it is 
not worthy of being called a common country road. You may travel o\i'r any coun- 
try road in Maryland and be safer than traveling over that road. 

Q. What amount of gravel or stone do you think necessary for a road 24 feet in 
width ? — A. It should be at least 18 inches of gravfl in the center and K on the sides. 

By Mr. St( )X].: : 

Q. Wliat would be the cost per mile of building such a turnpike '! — A. I should think 
yon could no*^^ build a good turnpike road, sucli as I speak of, short of from |:5,()()() to 
.$.5,000 a mile, to put up suitable bridges ami everything else. 

Q. Would that include the purchase of the land? — A. No, sir; simply foi' building 
the road. 

Q. AVhat do you suppose a road like this one could be built for/ — A. I should not 
think that this road would cost half as much, or pi'rhaj^s more than one-thii'd. but that 
is merely a rough guess. 

Francis Mii.I.kh sworn and examined. 
To Mr. MrzzY : 

I am an attorney-at-law; I reside in Montgomery County, Maryland; 1 am familiar 
with the road known as the Seventh-street pike, and hav(> been for twenty-li\ e years. 
Within the past twelve years I have resided in Maryland, and have been very familiar 
with that road. 1 walked over the road last Saturday, with a view to <'xaniining its 
condition. 

Question. Statt' the result of your observation that day. — Answer. The result of my 
observ^ition is entirely conlirniatory of tin; report of ^Ir. Jb'ewer. I made some rough 
notes", as I went along; but it is hardly luicc^ssary to encumber the record with it, be- 
lause I agree lu'ec-isc^ly witli Mi'. Brewci'. There are two large culverts and two lu'idges 
on the load, on either side of which it would ln^ very dangerous for a carriage to go 
over. 'J'he culverts have no jjrotection, no side railing at all. 'One of the bridges has 
partly a railing, but it is just in that condition that a child could push it down with- 
out tiie least ditheulty. If a drunken nnin staggered against it, he would fall over and 
carry the railing with him. The tirst bridgt! has underneath it a partly stone wall. 
On that there are some upright ]»osts. and across those is nailed some plank, and the 
••arth rests against that i)lank. The a])i)roa(di on either side for forty or tifty yards is only 
fi'om 14 to 1<) l<'it \\ idr. and (piile i)reciiiitous, so that if two wagons were to meet thcn^ 
they would have diflicnlty in passing. It is entirely impossible for a carriage to pass 
a load of hay there. The bridge is about 14 feet wide, (1 give the measurements as I 
ste])ped them,) and the railing is in the condition in which I have stated it. At th« 
other bridge, which is further out, beycnnl the second toll-gate, there is no railing on 
one side, and on the other side there is a railing which consists of ni)right posts that 
are nailed on. The middle ones rest on the Hat ])art of the bridge, and then they arc 
toe-naih'd. 'I'he others run dow n the side ami are spiked to the side of the briflge. 
Tlu^rc is nothing buried in the ground at all. The rail is held entiicly by these nails. 
The boards along the side and across the toj» have been nailed at times, and one end 
or other is freipiently nailed now, but there is haiilly ever a case when the board is 
nailed on both ends. 'J"ht! width is like the othei" briilge, and the aiiproaches are quite 
precipitous. The wh(d(^ surface of t lie road is dat. I <lo not think tln-re is an instance 
iu which there is '24 feet of rounded road along the whole distance. Sometimes the 
road is 24 feet wide, but when it is that width it is in little holes, so that if there is any 



IMJIiLlC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 15 

•aiu the water .settles in tlnMii, and wagons '^d through tho grouuil. I supjiosB that ou 
Saturday, when 1 was on the road, thcMc were tiftecu or twenty mud hohjs in the road, 
some of them extending hall-way across the road, some one-third of the way, and some 
smaller ones. I do not think there are a hundred yards of road consecutively that 
answer the conditions in the charter. There are some cases, mentioned by Mr. Brewer 
in his report, where the road is very sandy, particuhirly at Mayor Emory's place, near 
to Fort Stevens. There were ruts in the sand on Saturday at least six inches deep. If 
the sand went down to the center of the earth, wagons would not cut in any more t4p,n 
they do now. I have b(.'en on the road in the early spring and in the winter, and have; 
often seen wagons cut in nearly to the hub. I do not know personally of instances in 
which they have gone (piite down to the hub, but I have- heard re])ort of them. We 
have, in Moutgonieiy t!ounty, a turnpike running to the end of this road from the 
village of Brookville, which is a macadamized road, and we can take there a load Avith 
three horses and bring it (hiwn to the District line, which will take five horses to bring- 
to the city ou this turnpike road. That is the experience of all our farmers. They 
have to nearly doulde their force on this road ; they cannot haul more than half what 
they can on a'good road. I speak of the road in the spring, when it is in its worst 
condition. For the past four or tive months there has been scarcely any rain, the suow 
that we had a week or two ago is nearly the whole amount that has fallen during four 
or five months, and of course the ground is dry ; but usually, in the spring, when the 
frosts get out of the ground, there is no limit to the depth into which wagons get on 
this road. There is nothing to keep them from going down to the hub. This road was 
built on a charter from the State of Maryland, chartering the Washington and Rock- 
ville Turnpike Company. That company was authorized by Congress to build this 
road from Washington to the Maryland line. I have made iuquiries from every one 
likely to know any'thing about it, and I have not heai'd of any one who ever kiKnv that 
that road was conii>letcHl ; I mean the road from the District lino to RockviUe. This 
charter was obtained ou tlie pretense that they were going to build a turnpike from the 
city of Washington to Rockville. They have undertaken to build it out to the District 
line, and are collecting toll on it. The Brookville road from the city limit is on an 
entirely different charter ; that was built, I think, from IH.54 to 18,56. In the twenty- 
tive years that I have known the road, there never has been a toll-gate there, and there 
has not been any pretense to have control over that road by any corporate company 
from the District line up four miles. At the village of Leesburg the road goes to the 
xcft to go over Rock Creek, but there is not cxow a tradition that speaks of tlie exist- 
i'uce of this road. 

By Mr. Stonk : 

Q. This turnpike, so built, goes to Brookville. and not to Rockville? — A. To Brook- 
ville. It is on the road to Rockville for four miles, but it is under an entirely different 
charter and company. 

Q. So that there is no turnpike road now leading from the District limits to Rock- 
ville ? — A. Not only that; but I do not believe that a good load of any kind of 
Huiterials could get by that way to Rockville. There has been no turnpike there. 
That company and two other companies depend entirely upon this Seventh-street road 
to get to the city. There are two other turnpikes that empty into the Brookville pike. 
This Brookville pike, with the Sandy Spring branch; is IW miles long, and there are 
two turnpikes in course of construction that will be 21 miles long, making altogether 
'.IS or 39 miles of turnpikes, which the citizens of Montgomery County have built in 
order to get to the city of Wasliington ; but when they get to the District line, they are 
turned into a slough of Mesjiond, and find al! their lal>or lost. 

WASTiix(a()N, 1). C., Jaimarif 2i, 1871. 

{'. E. Ckkkcy sworn and examined. 
To Mr. Muzzv : 

i am familiar with the Seventh-street turnpike. 1 have been familiar with it 8 or iJ 
years. I have been over it frequently within the last 4 or .5 years. Thei'O are two toll- 
gates on it within the District line. The condition of the road is bad. I was over 
it last Saturday, and found it in some places very bad. There are some places where it 
is not macadamized. I cannot call to mind particularly the spots. I noticed that the 
road is not nuu'e than 18 feet wide near a bridge there, and that it is a very dangerous 
place. In the early spring and the latter part of winter the road is very bad, muddy, 
and rutty. Ten or twelve years ago they called it the Seventh-street plaidc road, but 
I never knew why, except that there were some few planks in some places. I have 
paid t(dl ou the road whenever I went through the gate. The farmers along the road 
di>mplain of the road being bad, and they all want the toll abolished. There is a great 
deal of travel o\ cr the road. I counted upward of 20 wagons — what they call Vir- 
ginia market wagons — coming down the road. It strikes me that if all that pass pay 
roll, tliey must have a good revenue. I have not iu>ticed any recent repairs on the roail. 



16 iniBJJC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OV COLUMBIA. 

I should not Mii>)i»si', tli;it, tliiM'c, have bL^i".i aiiy r{",>iii-.s put o'l for a yi-aror two. Tliurc 
is ii hridj^t^ ahimt h lU-way ht'twoiMi the first toll-gatii and Urij^litwood, whicli i.s very 
(hiiijreroiis. I recolh-et driviiiji; over it once with a IVactions horse and I came iieaily 
jjjoiuji; over the side of it. I woulil liardly liave escap'd witli my life if I iiad. Tiie 
ruilinj;' was partially down at tliat tim;'. ' Tlnu'e is a railin;*' now to it, hut ths? hriJj^e is 
only ah;)ut 20 or Ml) t\"'A lonu,", and on <miIi sid<' of it tluM'e ar,' <lan;^-.'roas !;n!]i'ys — on !i 
sort oi" eanseway leadin<x to it. 

WAsiiiNtiToN, D. ('.. JiiiKiiuii :!tt, 1S71. 
.1. T. Hai.l sworn an<l exanunrd. 

To Mr. Stonk : 

1 leslde ill the connty of Washington. 1 am well acMpiainted with the S^n-enth-strei't 
turnpike road. I have known it ft)r two and a half ye.us i>rotty thoroughly 1 have 
driven over it for the last eight year.s, olfand on. Its condition has been very good ou 
an average; inucdi l)etter than the roads running parallel with it. It has a solid road- 
bed. It seems to ha\e a bottom solidly packed as a road that has been traveled over 
for a number of years. 

Question. Wliat i.s its width ? — Answer. In my opinion the average uidtij \vonld be 
more than 2i feet. There are some places where the top road Avould not be ipiite 24 
feet, but the road-bed is much more than that. There is no part of the road that 1 
iiavo seen where three wagons cannot pass. 

(J. iUe the bridges all in good repair / — A. They were when I last saw them, last fall. 
I have not been over the road, all the way, since then. They were all in good order 
then. I was ovrv the whole road last fall, from the connty line to Washington, and I 
examined it thoroughly. 

Q. 'I'hat i)art of it which you <lrove over this morning, was it in good order? — A. I 
cannot say, ;is it is covered with snow. We did not go through, liowever. The rond 
was solid and even. That was from the toll-gate to the city. 

To Mr. Muzzy: 

I measured the road last summer; I have not measured it since. 

Q. Was it throughout its entire length an artilicial road 24 feet wide, of stone oj 
gravel ? — A. I do not like! to say. Tluue nuiy be some places where the road was 
washed and would not be 24 feet wide, but in my opinion the a\ crage is '.iO ieet. The 
road in my opinion is nuieh wider than any "of the other county roads, bnt in some 
places thi\v have given tin; grade of the road considerable dip, so as to nuike it solid, in 
passing through any cut or gully, bnt the top of the road theie is 24 feet, easily. Most 
of the road is a good diive. 

By Mr. Stoxe: 

Q. Does the gravel or stone extend 24 feet in width ' — A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How deep is the gravel '! — A. I do not know. It must be 9 inches deep, for if not. 
the heavy teams that come in from Montgomery County, loaded with corn and hay, 
would go right through it. It is used a 4 one of the arteries of Montgonu-ry County. 
Every morning 8 or I) or 10 teams ])ass our house loaded with grain, and if it was not 
the best road in the county they would not take it, because the Fourteenth-street road 
taps it up above, where the teams would not have to pay titll. 

Q. Does the Fourteenth-street road tap it within the District line ?— A. Yes, sir : 
within the District liiU3. 

Q. What sort of a road is the Fourteenth-street road? — A. It is cpiite a good road. 
My teams are going over it every day to the city, from a place called Piney Branch. 
The majority of the farmers from Montgomery County take the Seventh-street toll- 
road, in preference to the Fourteenth-street road. The reascm I know so much aluiut 
the Seventh-street road is, that I went over it and exannned it thoroughly. I olfered 
to take it from the comi)any, and I certainly would not take a broken-up road. 

Q. How much work have you seen done on the Seventh-street road during the pasi 
ycai"? — A. During the past year, from August last, I was sick in bed; but in the spring 
I saw a nnnil)er of teams and men at work on Howard's Hill. I also noticed, before tlu 
snow came, a numbi-r of ])atches in the middle of the load, where gravel had been 
hauled ; so that ther;! must have been some work done. 

Q. Have you examined the condition of the bridge at Marshal Brown's ' — A. I have 
not seen the bridges lt)r a year. 

Q. Do you know the width of the yv.:\d at either of the bridges, or at the ap- 
]»ii)aches ? — A. I do not. The ain)roaehes would be abcuit the width of the bridges, 
and my impression is that the bridges are 15 f<'et wide, that i.s, wide enough for thret 
wagons to i)ass, 

Q. Three hay wagons ? — A. N(», I will not say that; a vehicle could hardly pass one 
hay wagon. I know that the bridges were all washed away about three years ago, in 
a, heavy freshet, and that they wen? all built uji anew. 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 17 

Joseph C. Lewis sworn and examined. 
By Mr. Stone : 

Question. State the condition of this Seventh-street road and any particular facts you 
may deem pertinent to the inquiry. — Answer. I think the road is in a good condition. 
It is not as good a road as we woukl like to Iiave made ; but we have expended all the 
money upon it that we have been able to collect for the last five years, and we are in 
debt besides over a thousand dollars. The plan of the road was made by Engineer 
Coyle and reported to the levy court, and approved as being within the rules or within 
the charter in every respect. " This bridge which the gentleman speaks of is as broad 
as any of the bridges in the county. It is as broad as the bridge over Piny Branch at 
the quarry, and itis a good bridge. But, then, teams are not confined to the bridge; 
they can go down and cross above the bridge ; and that used to be the practice always, 
especially when they wanted to water the teams ; they leave the bridge and go over 
above it. This embankment, that is called too narrow, is probably at its base forty feet 
wide ; but the embankment is high, and probably the road at the top is not so wide as 
is desirable ; but there is no difiiculty in passing two teams over it abreast at any time. 
If the Government will pay us what it owes us, we will expend it all on the road, or 
Ave will give up the road, if the Government says so. The Government owes us some- 
thing like $8,000, without reckoning in interest. 

Q. What is that for? — A. The first year of the war we let the Government teams 
travel over the road without paying toll or without keeping any account ; but we 
found that this travel was running us in debt heavily to keep up the bridges and to 
make them stronger, so that the Government teams could travel over the road. We 
then commenced keeping an account, and one account of over $8,000 was rendered to 
the Government, of which the Government paid us one-half. We afterward rendered 
another accouut of about $4,000, and received one-half of it ; and I think there was 
still another accouut of perhaps $2,000, of which we were also paid one-lialf. To the 
best of my recollection, the Government paid us some $7,000 out of $14,000. The other 
half is still in abeyance, and has not been paid. 

Q. What reason does the Government allege for not paying you ? — A. General Meigs 
said, during the war, " We want to make you help to carry on the war, aud we Avill 
adopt this rule of paying you one-half the tolls ; " but, as we did not keep an account 
the first year, the Government really owes us more than Ave sent an account for. 
There can be no hardship to the citizens in paying this toll, because, if they choose, 
they can take the Fourteenth street road, where they have not to pay any toll. The hard- 
ship is on our side, as we have expended a good deal of money for Avliich Ave get noth- 
ing. The hardship is not on the part of the community, because the road is kept up 
Avithout their money, aud if people do not choose to travel it, they pay nothing Avhat- 
ever for it. When they do choose to traA'el it, it is Avhen the other roads are bad, and 
when this is the best road to bring doAvn heavy teams upon. They bring doAvn their heavy 
teams (m this road and go back with their empty teams on the other road. This Four- 
teenth street road goes up to Fort Stevens, and to Fort Massachusetts, aud there it crosses 
the road to the Maryland line, so that there is no hardship at all in collecting tolls on this 
road ; for even the Montgomery folks can come to this city without touching our road 
at all. I think I am authorized by the directors of the road in saying that, if the Gov- 
ernment Avill pay what it acknowledges it OAves, we will make a road there such as 
nobody shall be ashamed of, or, if the Government Avill pay us Avhat it owes us and 
take the road itself, and take care of it, we would agree to that. I Avrote to Judge 
Sargent, the president of the levy court, the other day, a letter Avhich I Avill hand to 
the committee and Judge Sargent's answer to it. The letter and answer are as follows : 

Washington, January 28, 1871. 
Deak Sir : I wish to know if it is the Avish of the present levy court that the turn- 
pike roads should be added to the present heavy taxes, or do they Avish that the road 
be kept in repair, as now, by those who travel it. The whole receipts have been ex- 
pended upon the road for the last five years. 
Yours, truly, 

J. C. LEWIS, Tax-Payer. 
Judge Sargent, 

President of Levy Court. 

Washington, January 28, 1871. 
Sir : In reply to the foregoing letter, [ can only say for myself, as a member of the 
levy court, that I have no desire that turnpike roads in the county sliould become a bur- 
den to the county. We have roads enough now to keep in repair Avithout any being 
added to our burden. 
At tlie next meeting of the court, this subject will probably be considered. 
Your obedient servant, 

N. SAKGENT. 
J. C. Lewis, Esq. 

H. Rep. 36 2 



18 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

By Mr. Miller: 

Q. Wluiii was the last flividend dcclarctl on tliia road? — A. Five years ago. 

Q. AVliat was the amount ? — A. I reckon about :} jier cent. 

Q. What was the ag.ijregate amount ? — A. I am not able to say. 

Q. How much money has been expended on this road (hiring the last year? — A. Mr. 
Jackson and Marshal Brown were the sni)erintendents of the road, and attended not 
only to the rei)airs of tlui road, but to all the outlay. 

Q. Do yon ciuirge toll on this road ?— A. Toll is collected on it, and I do not think 
there is any hardsliip about that, for tliis reason : tliat all who pass over the road on 
this side of tlu^ first toll-gate, pass over it perfectly free ; and all living in the county, 
on the other side of the toll-gate, can use the road for ten dollars a year; and they cer- 
tainly could not make the repairs themselves for twice that amount. Those; who pass 
over it from the other county pass over the whole length of the road, and I do not know 
any one of thimi who yiays more than twenty dollars a year. 

Q. Do you know of any persons who refuse to ])ay toll ?— A. I do not know of any 
such case now. Wo used to have troubh; with the Blairs, but I have not heard of their 
making any trouble recently. All the trouble that 1 have heard of was with Mr. Shep- 
pard, who had some little difficulty with the toll-gate keeper. I traveled over the road 
the day that lie made the complaint, and a finer road I never saw; I traveled the whole 
distance from the boundary line to the District line. It is certainly very poor encour- 
agement to any person to engage iu a public enterprise if tliey are not allowed to get 
along peaceably. 

By Mr. Stone : 

Q. What is the corporate name of the turnpike that connects with this road leading 
into Montgomery County, and when was it built f — A. The one that is most pronjincnt 
now is the Washington and Brookvillo road. The MaryUxud part of the Rockville road 
was built, but was not kept up, iJerhaps. We have no connection with that ; our part 
of the road w%as within the District, and Congress legalized the District part of it. 

Q. Was that road ever built from the District line to Rockville? — A. I understood 
that it was built, but that it has not been kept np, and that onlj- that part of the road 
leading to Brookville has been kept up; that is the road now in full operation under 
the laws of Maryland. Th.e Rockville road was built more than thirty years ago — as 
much of it as was built, and how much of it was kept up I am not able to say; I 
understood that this road was built entirely from the District line to Rockville. The 
Brookville road, as I understand it, passes on the same bed for four miles, and that is 
a very good road; that was built about the year 1854 or 1855. 

Washington, D. C, Fehniartj 2, 1871. 

Joseph C. Lewis recalled. 

Witness handed to the committee the list of the stockholders of the Washington and 
Rockville Turnpike Road Company, as certified from the records of the supreme court 
of the District of Columbia, as follows : 



1859, January 12. Indictment for 

vs. '- ' • 



Criminal Court — March term, 1861 

United States "1 

vs. I 

V nuisance 

The Rockville and Washington Turnpike [ ^g^^ April 'l6 

Road Company. J ?! 

Nolle prosequi by United States attorney. 

Copy from the records of the late criminal court of the District of Columbia. 
Test: 

R. J. MEIGS, 
Cleric of the Supreme Court of the Dintrict of Columbia. 
By E. J. MIDDLETON, 

Assistant Clerk. 
January 27, 1871. 



PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTEICT OF COLUMBIA. 19 

List of the stockholders of the Eoclcville and JVashinf/to)i Tiirnpilce Road Company. 



Wasli. Adams 

H. Anil 

S. & P. F. Bacon . . . 
Bates & Bro 

B. Beall 

S. C. Barney 

L. Beeler 

Joseph Borrows 

George Blagdeu 

P. Bradley 

J. C. Brent 

R. Y. Brent 

Brereton & Bro 

M. Brown 

J. Bryan 

George Burns 

C. BrCalvert 

Clinbb Brothers . . . . 
W. Clarke 

D. Clagett 

J. S. Clarke 

W. W. Corcoran 

F. Coyle 

W. G.'Cranch 

M. E. Dekrafft 

E. Dekrafft 

■ L. Edwards 

J. Gallegan & Son. . 
Joseph Gales 

G. S. Gideon 

J. Gideon 

J. H. Goddard 

A. Green 

S. H. Hill 

J. Hellen 

F. Howard 

A. P. Hoover 

S. Hyatt 

B. S. Jackson & Bro 

Aug. Jay 

J. Johnson 

M. A. Kerr 

Ann Kerr 

H.Kerr 

J. C. Leedis 

M. S. F. Lenox 



50 

300 

120 

40 

180 

50 

50 

120 

120 

260 

50 

12(J 

120 

120 

60 

40 

120 

120 

, 120 

50 

240 

120 

120 

90 

290 

50 

120 

10 

300 

120 

120 

40 

240 

120 

40 

20 

50 

200 

573 

20 

50 

50 

50 

640 

40 



W. Lenox 

C. Lindsley 

A. Lynch 

F. A. Lutz 

J. W. Manry 

C. M. Magrnder 

T. J. Magrnder 

J. C. McG uire 

S. Mnuroe 

F. Munroe 

S. Norment 

P. Otterbach 

J. D. Paine 

C. G. Page 

G. H. Parker 

E. W. Patterson 

C. Pearson 

Perry & Bro 

W. G. Pearson 

E. Ray 

E. M. Randall 

W. R.Riley 

J. A. Ruff 

D. Saunders 

T. P. Simpson 

R. C. Smith 

J. B. H. Smith 

C. Scott 

Sweeny & O'Neale, executors 

W. H. Taylor 

J. T. Towers 

W.B.Todd 

J. B. Varnnm 

William Ward 

E. R. Warren 

R. C. Wallach 

L.Wheeler 

W. G. W.White , 

W.H. Winter 

C. H. Weltberger 

M. Worden 

V.Miller 

J. A. Smith 

S. Storm 

Total 



$30 

120 

20 

40 

480 

120 

40 

300 

60 

60 

40 

240 

,440 

20 

240 

573 

.573 

120 

573 

140 

120 

,530 

240 

120 

50 

120 

120 

120 

140 

500 

120 

80 

120 

120 

, 430 

320 

30 

20 

.300 

120 

120 

20 

240 

120 



22, 492 



Expended for the repairs of the road from May 31, 1861, to May 31, 1870. 



May 31, 1851 
May 31, 1862 
May 31, 1863 
May 31, 1864 
May 31, 1865 
May 31, 1867 



$390 


25 


371 


58 


2,508 02 II 


1,823 


50 


4,411 


77 


3,688 


24 



May 31, 1866 
May 31, 1869 
May 31, 1870 



|1,788 76 

524 09 

2, 689 50 



Total 



18, 195 71 



No dividend declared since 1866, all of the receipts of the road having been applied 
to its repairs and improv^ement. 

S. B. BOARMAN, 

Secretary. 

ROCKVILLE AND WaSHIXGTON 

Turnpike Road Company, January 30, 1871. 

Witness explained that the stock of the old company vras reckoned in the foregoing 
list at fifty cents on the dollar. 



20 PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

By Mr. Millkk: 

Q. Did you ever know of any of the stock bcir)<; sokl? — A. Yes. 

Q. How l()iif>- since? — A. I have known it sold witliin the last two years. 

Q. Wliat did it sell for?— A. It rates <renerally at fifty cents on tlie dollar, hut I 
have known it to be sold as low as twenty-five cents, within the last two years. 

Q. Did you ever know it to sell for less thau twenty-five cents on the dollar ? — A. No, 
sir; I do not think I have. 

Q. And there has been no dividend since 1866? — A. No. 

Q. What was the dividend then ? — A. Three per cent., I think. 

Q. When had there l)een a dividend before that time ? — A. We had had dividends 
every year for two or three years before that. 

Q. State whether the amount stated in that return as being expended in 1870 was 
all exiKiided in that year? — A. That is the amount of the payments in that year. It 
is not probable Hint it was all expended in that year, because we had owed bills from 
1869, which we had not been able to piiy. It was stated the other day that the road 
owed about $500 to the bank and $600 besides. 

Q. Are you acquainted wilh any part of the road where Avork was done in 1870 to 
any extent, except at Howard's Hill f — A. A good deal of work was done opposite the 
Sciiuetzen place. It is well "traveled along there. It was in bad condition before. It 
was Hattened down, so that when it rained the water lodged there. It has been 
rounded up very nicely. I am frank to confess that the money has not always been as 
judiciously expended as it might have been ; but as to the fact of its being expended, 
there is no question. Other gentlemen, however, dift'er with me, and think that they 
are permanently improving the road ; and when it is permanently improved it wUl 
take less to keep it in repair, and will pay the shareholders something. But so far as 
I am concerned, I would be very glad if Congress would just pay up what the Govern- 
ment owes us and take the road. There is a good deal of travel on the road all the 
while, but the tolls are very low. 

By Mr. Stone : 
Q. Is not that road the main artery to the city of Washington from Montgomery 
County ? — A. Gentlemen dispute that jioiiit with us, but I should say that it is one of 
the main arteries. I would not like to say that it Avas the main artery. I think it is 
also the best avenue, because it has been well chosen. The bed of the road is very solid 
and very well turned out ; and the road is nearly a straight line. 

J. J. Hall recalled. 

Witness. At the request of Mr. Lewis, I measm-ed the width of the road tliis morn- 
ing between the city and the first toll-gate — the narrowest part. I found the average 
of the road lo be 36 feet ; not the road-bed itself, which is much wider. The whole 36 
feet can be traveled, but not with pleasure, because there is a slight decline on each 
side. 

By Mr. Milleu : 

Q. How much of the road was graveled ? — A. In my estimation, the whole of the road 
was graveled. 

Q. Did you see any gravel there ? — A. I saw the red structure of the road, and the 
road is hard, and therefore it must be graveled, as there is no frost there now. 

Q. How was the curve ? — A. Pretty fiat. 

Q. Was it smooth 1 — A. It was smooth in places. I will not say that it w^s like a 
table, but it was not a bad road. 



